Best of 2025 - Albums
Well, today’s the day: the Cups N Cakes team reveals our picks for the best albums of 2025. Each volunteer was asked to pick their five favourite full-length albums of 2025, and write a few words about their picks. For those interested in the final tally, Edmonton’s Smokey nabbed three mentions with his long awaited LP Bleak Heritage, alongside Motherhood’s Thunder Perfect Mind, while Emma Goldman, Penny & the Pits, Ribbon Skirt, and Night Committee all picked up two nods. Without any further adieu: the best records of 2025.
Jeff MacCallum
Fencing - Fencing Wikipedia
The sleeper hit of the year is from a relatively unknown Winnipeg band called Fencing. This isn’t just my favourite Canadian record of the year, it’s my favourite... full stop. Fencing Wikipedia is their debut album, a culmination of five years spent developing a complex sound that is a blend of post-rock, slowcore, noise, jangle-pop, and ambient. It’s the lovechild of Slint’s Spiderland and Low’s Double Negative after a divorce where a step-parent came into their life. That step-parent… early Modest Mouse. Quiet moments have you leaning in, straining to listen to the whisper/mumble vocals. Loud moments are Earth-shattering with blown out speaker static purposely part of the mix. I cannot get enough of this record and it’s made my weekly Quick Picks column duties very hard because Fencing Wikipedia is literally the only record I’ve wanted to listen to for the past two months.
Smokey - Bleak Heritage
Talk about anticipation! Edmonton’s Smokey returned to music in 2023 and has been slowly releasing singles up to the release of Bleak Heritage this year. This is exactly how I want my country. It’s twangy and psychedelic like the score for a spaghetti western. Smokey has a voice that isn’t some copy and paste, cookie cutter, top 40 bullshit. Finally, the only two genres where I believe lyrics are truly important are folk and country and Smokey delivers potent lyricism that can make you laugh and cry all at once. This record is an absolute triumph and the best country record I can remember hearing in years.
Quinton Barnes - Black Noise
When I first put on Black Noise I turned it off immediately, I wasn’t prepared for it. I was listening to his other 2025 release a bunch and this is a completely different statement. Just as Barnes had been finally gaining some much deserved mainstream notoriety, he pivoted 180 and dropped this experimental/noise hip-hop masterpiece. Eight incredible musicians dubbed the ‘Black Noise Ensemble’ spontaneously composed these tracks for Barnes to get his most contemplative to date. Speaking, rapping, and singing over these wild compositions is not an easy feat and Barnes executed it flawlessly.
Franco Rossino - #1 and #2
Yeah… it’s technically two albums (with a third on the way) but as the creator of this little music publication that could… I’m giving myself a pass. Franco Rossino is most known outside of his hometown as a member of Dumb but in Vancouver he’s carved out a healthy slice of the indie scene with a DIY studio space called Choms. These two records are the best thing he’s ever done with #1 being a guitar record and #2 being piano. In both cases Rossino writes ear-worm melodies that perfectly accompany his speak-sing delivery and his sardonic, witty lyrics.
EarthBall - Outside Over There
Making their second appearance on my end of year lists, Nanaimo’s EarthBall delivered an album that hits harder than any of my favourites from 2025. It did take a minute for me to warm up to Outside Over There, as my first introduction to EarthBall was a quieter live show in which they were obviously inspired by the venue (see my favourite live shows of 2025) but this album is totally fried and right up my alley. It’s a free-jazz/noise-rock tour-de-force that relentlessly bludgeons your senses so be prepared like I wasn’t.
Sean Newton
Verry Gerry - Verry Gerry
About once a year, a new record comes out from a band in New Brunswick, and I think to myself “Gee, maybe I should move to New Brunswick”. I sent this one around to the Cups N Cakes group chat when it came out, and it was universally agreed that a more ‘Sean’ sounding record had not come out this year. And indeed, I love every minute of this thing, from the bubbly opening salvo of “Flat Pop” to the Kinks-esque “Blame the City”. Verry Gerry’s debut was, without a doubt, the most fun I had listening to a new record this year.
Smokey - Bleak Heritage
I was talking with a friend of mine about my admiration for the way that Smokey writes songs, and said to her that he sounds like he’s been doing this a long time, and that he has spent every second of that time figuring out how to sound more like himself. I’m not sure that there’s any quality that’s more admirable than that in a world where there are 300 new records that come out every week that… Kinda sound the same. Long awaited and worth the wait, Bleak Heritage was the finest LP from Western Canada this year.
Motherhood - Thunder Perfect Mind
What is in the water in New Brunswick? Motherhood’s psych-y prog-y take on a sci-fi concept record is as delightful as we’ve come to expect from the East Coast trio of ‘deep thinkin’ rippers’ (their words, not mine). Take a song like “Bok Globule”— it starts in complete chaos, punctuated by this sludgy 1/3rd time thing, until it gives way to a groovy as hell B-section, punctuated by these short little accapella church choir stabs. I truly don’t think there’s another band in the country that even tries to pull this kind of shit off, and it’s a testament to how great the band is that they do it over and over again across Thunder Perfect Mind.
Penny & the Pits - Liquid Compactor
Okay, fine, the list is a little heavy on New Brunswick this year. This year, after all, marked the year that Motherhood and it’s members put out three full length LPs. In the end though, I spent more time with Penny & the Pits than any other band on this list. Listening back to it while writing this, that makes sense; it strikes me that, with the exception of the next entry on this list, it’s maybe the album from a band this year that truly works the best as an album. That’s not to say there aren’t individual highlights— “Thick Black Gloves” was one of my favourite songs of the year, and the verses in “Eutychus” have been running around my head going on 6 months now. But the real delight is in the cohesion, the vocabulary that Penelope Stevens has created for the Pits, the sense that each song reinforces the next one across the tracklisting— that’s what makes it special.
Friendly Rich - Birds of Marsville
This record is bananas. Taken from the liner notes on Bandcamp: “I wrote this piece using a mechanical street organ, built by Brampton inventor and Cuckoo clock enthusiast, Henk De Graauw”. So yea, it’s a pretty fun and pretty wild listen, and that quote, though almost certainly completely made up (like everything else on the delightful Bandcamp write up), is certainly a good description of the music. Fans of the kitschy and cuckoo will find lots to like here, if maybe only in short bursts (it is… maximalist in nature), but lovers of Oliver Messiaen’s Catalog d’Oiseaux (and it’s ilk) will find entire worlds to inhabit in the album’s 35 or so minutes. Nobody is putting out music in Canada like Friendly Rich, and every time he puts out a new record, it’s well worth a listen. And dear god, someone please get me a giant print of that cover art for Christmas.
Simone Atenea Medina Polo
Debby Friday - The Starr of the Queen of Life
This album really establishes Debby Friday as a pop star in my eyes. She evolves her artistry into electronic lyrical poetry meant to stir desire at every turn, whether it is in the blur of a dance club or in the meandering yearning of a late night highway drive.
Emma Goldman - all you are is we
What a debut, honestly. This album deserves all the attention it has gotten and more. It is crass, energetic, experimental, and just straight up fun. Emma Goldman has me wanting more, and I think they have so much room to explore their sound with these foundations.
Devours - Sports Car Era
This has become THE Devours album for me. It shows off the best of Jeff Cancade’s production leaning into elements of electropunk and the more industrial vein of hyperpop, which doesn’t shy away from the more challenging takes while still retaining Devours’ heart-on-the-sleeve pop lyricism.
Camilla Sparksss - ICU RUN
Camilla Sparksss has transformed her sound into a polished and abrasive industrial experimental pop masterpiece. The harsh production and instrumental choices along with Sparksss’ macabre vocal takes make for an engaging listening experience beginning to end. As a die-hard Arca fan, the sound design and production just got me good.
Jane Inc. - A RUPTURE A CANYON A BIRTH
I feel strongly about this album. It has an impressive story to tell, and the artistry it took to translate it into electropop speaks to Jane Inc.’s best work to date. It is emotional and existentially challenging with the questions that Jane Inc. asks about herself and her life.
Craig Martell
Night Committee - Your Plans Mean Nothing
Night Committee are probably my favorite Calgary band ever, so I was already pretty excited to hear their first new album in 11 years. I was also apprehensive. It’s been so long! And it’s the first Night Committee record without Lorrie Matheson on keys. There was no need to worry. This album rips. Every song Andrew Wedderburn has every written has blown me away. He’s one of my favorite vocalists and lyricists. Each song is fun, and mostly fast. It’s the next step in a beautiful evolution.
Computer - Station on the Hill
I was standing with a friend after watching Computer at a poorly attended show and I said something like “Man, nobody is making music like that.” and they said something like “No, lots of people are making music sort of like that, but they just do it better.” Maybe we are both right. Computer is somehow simultaneously punishing and thoughtful. Their music clobbers you, but every sound is intentional and necessary. It’s about as good as noise rock can be. It’s lovely. It makes me happy.
Washing Machine - Silver Tongue
Washing Machine have always been a band that is a tasteful guide on how punks can grow up. Unpretentious music that bounces all around the post-punk and new wave genres. Songs will remind of Sugar, The Police, Public Imagine Ltd, XTC, Paul Simon, Orange Juice. I dunno, man, it also doesn’t sound like any of this stuff. Each song is uniquely Washing Machine. I love it.
Weird Lines - Weird Lines Weird Lines Weird Lines
On their third LP, Weird Lines perform an exploration of pop music. Some tracks touch on new wave, some are based in loud guitar rock. Lots feel simple and lo-fi and others feel bombastic and gigantic. Each song fits perfectly into the puzzle that is Weird Lines Weird Lines Weird Lines. Each seems to reach out and hold the hand of the next, encouraging it.
Languid - Shove Their System Up Their Ass
Languid seem like they have been around forever, and have been amazing the entire time. I used to think that anyone who likes hardcore would love them, but with Shove The System Up Their Ass, I now believe that anyone could love them. Uncompromising punk music that welcomes everyone. Super sick.
Penelope Stevens
Keith Hallett - Mezmerize Me
It amazes me that Keith isn’t yet recognized as a Canadian treasure, but if New Brunswick is described as Canada’s best kept secret, maybe our musicians are too. Mezmerize Me is experimental but timeless, psychedelic but visceral. Recorded on tape, it’s got a warmth and complexity that’s impossible to replicate.
Heaven for Real - Who Died & Made You the Dream?
WD&MYTD? is as eccentric as it is authentic, with lots to chew on through repeat listens. It’s an album that shines bright in an already dazzling catalogue, and one that just might entice you to feel your weirdest feelings, blessed with a newfound assurance that surely you’re not alone in it.
Zach Pelletier - Yucky Charm
If you like early Modest Mouse, this will scratch your perfect itch. One of Fredericton’s most talented players, Zach self-produces whacky rock songs with a touching tenderness. He’s not afraid to shred when appropriate, and leans into his rough edges as his signature style. Isaac Brock would be so proud.
TV Freaks - Blue Genie
A late addition to the year’s output, but rejoice! New TV Freaks! Blue Genie is perhaps more subdued than earlier material, but it still absolutely rips. Bass lines for days, smooth production, memorable and unfortunately relatable lyrics, it’s what I wish Idles would do.
The Hello Crows - S/T
This debut record from the Wabanaki collective features the songs and stories of four beloved indigenous artists, each accomplished in their own rights. It’s vibrant and full of life, honouring tradition without compromising the modern sound. The Hello Crows skillfully weave threads of personal experiences, resilience and community into every song.
Chris Lammiman
Destroyer - Dan’s Boogie
On Dan’s Boogie, Dan Bejar returns to some of his finest forms with a truly stunning record that floored me from start to finish. While maintaining his distinctive cryptic spoken-word lyricism, Bejar infuses accessible groove and even a sense of fun into this album to create something both inviting and esoteric.
Yves Jarvis - All Cylinders
In terms of sheer creativity, musical prowess, and stunning vocal chops, Yves Jarvis deserves high accolades for his shapeshifting and dynamic All Cylinders. Certainly, winning the coveted Polaris prize is a credit to the painstaking deliberation and obvious delight Jarvis takes in each and every note of this album.
Motherhood - Thunder Perfect Mind
One of Canada’s most dynamic live bands, Motherhood returns with a delightfully weird sci-fi concept album. A balancing act between technically astute, and rough and rowdy, Thunder Perfect Mind is bizarre, playful, and pushes past the edges of a typical rock record into something braver and more fulfilling than nearly anything else out there.
Home Front - Watch it Die
Watch it Die is a sophisticated, sincere, and elevated record from Edmonton’s Home Front. What sets this band apart is their ability to remain solidly steeped in the scenes and traditions they draw influence from (post-punk, new wave, synth-pop, etc), while claiming their own distinct sound and voice that’s not really like anything else.
Night Committee - Your Plans Mean Nothing
Your Plans Mean Nothing was probably the Canadian record I listened to the most this year. And I listened because it’s a well-written, emotive, and technically proficient album, yes - all these things. But more than that, it’s an enjoyable album. It is both fun and meaningful, and worth spin after spin.
Em Moore
Slash Need - SIT & GRIN
Slash Need, the Toronto duo made up of Dusty Lee and Alex Low, combine elements from techno, punk, synth pop, and electronic music to create tracks that are expansive and endlessly danceable on their debut album SIT & GRIN. Whether they are diving into the suppressive feeling in small towns on "BORDER TOWN", exploring desire on "LEATHER" (which becomes even more urgent on "FAST LEATHER"), or putting their frenetic spin on Fang’s "The Money Will Roll Right In” on "MONEY", there is no doubt of Slash Need's cathartic power.
Bonnie Trash - Mourning You
There are albums that you listen to and then there are albums that you feel deep within your bones. Bonnie Trash’s second album Mourning You falls into the latter category with nine gorgeously crafted songs that capture the complexity of grief with superb arrangements that take cues from metal, goth, noise, and punk, poetically gripping lyrics, and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor’s incredibly moving vocal delivery.
Emma Goldman - all you are is we
Emma Goldman comes out of the gate swinging on their debut full-length album all you are is we as they kick out twelve inventive skramz tracks that their namesake would be proud of. The Vancouver quartet tackle the hellscape created by late-stage capitalism, setting their sights on the rising cost of living and what happens when a society prioritizes profits over people with hard-hitting, sardonic lyrics that bring the spirit of anarchism to life while providing much-needed catharsis.
Ribbon Skirt - Bite Down
Ribbon Skirt’s debut album Bite Down is essential listening. The Montreal-based duo effortlessly combines elements from genres including indie rock, post-punk, and psychedelia, to create a swirling sonic landscape that envelops you from the first note of “Deadhorse” and doesn’t let you go until the final note of “Earth Eater”.
Matty Grace - Cheap Shame
Matty Grace is one of the most prolific and affecting songwriters of our time and her songwriting prowess is on full display on her debut full-length album Cheap Shame. Matty delves deep into mental health, the state of the world, and the true meaning of resilience over the course of 12 tracks that blend together punk rock and power pop perfectly.
Louise Jaunet
N NAO - Nouveau Langage
N NAO's marvellous electronic dream pop album creates a ceremonial space in which dancing to the point of exhaustion is paradoxically a form of healing. With her second nomination for the Polaris Prize, N NAO is definitely ready to take on the big stages, following in the footsteps of Klô Pelgag and Lou-Adriane Cassidy.
Patche - Mode
Art and machines have always had an intertwined history and the new album Mode from Patche is the perfect example of that. With modular synthesizers at the heart of the project, the moments of serendipity are what makes Patche so profoundly organic and undoubtedly one of the most exciting electronic projects to emerge from Montreal.
U.S. Girls - Scratch It
Scratch It is no match to the brilliant 2018 In A Poem Unlimited, but every album from Meghan Remy comes as good news. Formed around a one-time band, recorded in ten days and mixed live on the floor, the album proves that you can do a lot with a little.
Yoo Doo Right, Population II, Nolan Potter - Yoo II avec Nolan Potter
For Yoo Doo Right and Population II, who were both nominated for the Polaris Prize, releasing an improvised live album was the next logical step. It was almost an inevitable quest. This album feels like pure telepathy between the bands, a reminder that the best expeditions are often born out of a collective instinct.
Marie Davidson - City of Clowns
Opting for a bold, futuristic aesthetic, Marie Davidson combines Detroit-style electro with her dark humour and whispered monologues about self-confidence, surveillance capitalism and settling scores. She developed her arguments in her newsletter, offering a welcome antidote to the shallowness of the internet. Revenge is an album best served on the dance floor.
Ned Kroczynski
Motherhood - Thunder Perfect Mind
Thunder Perfect Mind, Motherhood’s newest record, became one of my favorites of the year because of how and when it showed up for me. February was intense and unwieldy in many ways, but Thunder Perfect Mind ended up feeling like a push through that storm, despite it narrating one itself.
Ribbon Skirt - Bite Down
Bite Down came out in April, but I didn’t get into it until June. For most of the summer, I didn’t have much to do; I drifted from place to place, writing songs anywhere I stayed longer than two weeks. Bite Down was spacey, heavy, and angry: it became my soundtrack.
Foxwarren - 2
I had 2 on repeat for the portion of the summer I spent in residential construction, where most days I drove forty minutes to Riviere Qui Barre to pour concrete. The drives were long and hot, but the canola fields and plastic-green plains were the perfect backdrop for Foxwarren’s newest incarnation of light and bouncy indie-rock.
Penny & The Pits - Liquid Compactor
Liquid Compactor played through the days I wasn’t intoxicated by prairie scenery. The album sometimes feels like it’s trying to control its own anger, but lucky for anyone who’s listened to it, it does a poor job, occasionally allowing itself and the listener to rejoice in flourishing fountains of punk-rock rage.
Smokey - Bleak Heritage
Bleak Heritage was the ringing of trumpets as my summer came to a close. The album takes its time, guiding you through mazes of lyrics and fuzzy country arrangements, and finally up a mountain where you watch the sun set. It made me feel like an old cowboy who had learned something you only can with time. I walked away from Bleak Heritage, and the summer, triumphant.
Tea Fannie
The Blue - So Look At the Bright Side
A perfect continuation from Things Could Be Worse, So Look At The Bright Side lives up to its name. It’s feel-good hip hop at its best, family friendly with no swears and no skips. Uplifting, smooth, and endlessly replayable, this one easily lands in my top five albums of the year.
Begonia - Fantasy Life
Fantasy Life has me dancing, grooving, and immediately searching for Begonia’s next live show. It’s an album this country’s pop culture can proudly claim. Powerhouse vocals? Check. Dynamic beats? Check. Nonstop energy? Check. Every track hits, making it one of those rare projects that feels both boldly artistic and irresistibly fun.
Fredy V - No Tribe No I
This genre fluid funkadelic album is a must listen if you haven’t heard it already. Future sounds, ancestral vibes, I can’t get enough of No Tribe No I. It’s like I can feel it in my bones as I’m dancing around my room every time a song from this album comes on.
Mauvey - Mauvey to a Bawah
Mauvey is one of my favourite Canadian artists, and watching him shift between Mauvey and Bawah has been a total treat. This album digs deeper into his roots, passion, and self-discovery while radiating confidence. It even makes you wonder: are we all Bawah at some point in our lives?
Not available to stream on Bandcamp.
Shad - Start Anew
I got a chance to hear Shad speak in Calgary a few weeks back and he really does like to Start Anew but it’s his lyricism that weaves every project together. He really is at the top of his game with this album, as I like to say, no skips!!!
