Playing catch up on this year in music? Hop into our 2025 best-of (via Spotify). Now you’ll know why everyone is (rightfully) talking about the animal geese (and the person Cameron Winter). And if you’ve been out of the loop for a while, you’ll be glad to see some vets like Jeff Tweedy rocking on the soulful “Enough” and Brit-pop legends Pulp sounding catchier-than-ever on “Spike Island.” Newer acts, like creek-rockers Wednesday, are also sounding like vets on folk-rock standout “Elderberry Wine.” And if you are confused about all of the This is Lorelei covers (now Waxahatchee? now Cameron Winter?) a good place to start is “Dancin’ In the Club” by M.J. Lenderman, who proves again he can do no wrong. So set aside four hours—one week of work commutes? a way-too-long run?—and consume it all. Then a month or so for your favorite albums. See you in 2026.

10: Nourished By Time – “Max Potential”

9: Blondshell – “23’s A Baby”

8: MJ Lederman – “Dancing in the Club” (This is Lorelei cover)

7: Erika De Casier – “Delusional”

6: UFO – “UFO’s” (Phoenix, Alan Braxe, DJ Falcon)

5: Wednesday – “Elderberry Wine”

4: Jeff Tweedy – “Enough”

3: Geese – “Taxes”

2: Wunderhorse – “The Rope”

1: Witch Post – “The Wolf”

Northern Transmissions TOP INDIE SONGS OF 2025

11: “Inept Apollo” – Nation of Language
12: “mangetout” – Wet Leg
13: “Nights in Armor” – Water From Your Eyes
14: “Chateau Blues” – Spoon
15: “Light Night Mountains All That” – Ratboys
16: “5” – Dean Blount : Elias Rønnenfelt
17: “Spells” – Freak Slug
18: “trainers” – They are Gutting A Body of Water
19: “Afterlife” – Alex G
20: “Crystals” – Sea Lemon ft: Ben Gibbard
21: “Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation” – jasmine.4.t
22: “Western Pepsi Cola Town” – The Convenience
23: “Boundary Rider” – Tycho and Paul Banks
24: “I want You (fever)” – Momma
25: “Metal” – The Beths
26: “Hey You” – The Belair Lip Bombs
27: “Listen2me” – Foxwarren
28: “Float” – Jay Som ft: Jim Adkins
29: “Over and Over” – Wishy
30: “Switch Over” – Horsegirl
31: “The Killer is Speaking” – The Last Dinner Party
32: “Magic Of The Sale” – Teethe
33: “Incomprehensible” – Big Thief:
34: “Shovel” – Deep Sea Diver
35: “Au Pays du Cocaine – Geese
36: “way of the exploding dickhead” – Mclusky
37: “Look Down On Us” – Maruja
38: “Summer Sweat” – Hannah Cohen
39: “MYTYPE” – Sudan Archives
40: “Drinking Age” – Cameron Winter
41: “Glue Traps” – Armand Hammer ft: Quelle Chris, The Alchemist, Billy Woods, ELUCID
42: “The Field” – Blood Orange ft: The Durutti Column, Tariq Al-Sabir, Caroline Polachek & Daniel Caesar
43: “Besties” – Black Country, New Road
44: “End Of Summer” – Tame Impala
45: “Hdydroplaning Off the Edge of the World” – Destroyer
46: “Spike Island” – Pulp
47: “STAR87” – billy woods, Conductor Williams
48: “Doom Bikini” – james k
49: “Dust Bowl” – Ethel Cain
50: “Knockin’ Heart” – Hamilton Leithauser
51: Give Me One Night” – C.Y.M. ft: Cherry Glazerr
52: “Another Baby” – Dijon
53: “Curtain” – Greg Freeman
54: “Better If You Make Me” – Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band
55: “The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)” – Car Seat Headrest
56: “In Love With a Memory” – SASAMI, Clairo
57: “It’s Amazing To Be Young” – Fontaines D.C.
58: “Forever Nowhere” – Weird Nightmare
59: “Dios Es En Stalker” – ROSALÍA
60: “Bonnet Of Oins” – Matt Berninger

Intro by David Saxum

Compiled by the wonderful staff from Northern Transmissions

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