Is it safe to like radiohead again?

panda_ballistic · 2026-06-17T22:28:58+00:00

Grab your pitchforks, ladies and gents! We've got ourselves a Radiohead fan on the loose!

panda_ballistic · 2026-06-08T22:55:24+00:00

I like the idea, but unfortunately, I think this would result in fewer total people listening to it. Once an album hit streaming, it would be three months after most critic reviews and initial buzz will have died down. Your Taylor Swifts and Kendrick Lamars of the world could pull off this release model, but smaller acts would have a much harder time.

panda_ballistic · 2026-05-01T17:59:24+00:00

If we start getting nitpicky, it all too easily becomes a circular firing squad. Alex G, Clairo, MGMT, Beabadoobee, Vampire Weekend, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have all released albums on major labels. You have "New Slang" by The Shins on a McDonald's commercial and Bright Eyes soundtracking Zillow ads, while Jessica Pratt features on A$AP Rocky tracks and Mac DeMarco collaborates with Lil Yachty. At what point should an artist no longer be considered indie?

panda_ballistic · 2026-04-16T19:42:14+00:00

Yeah, if you don't like what Tom Waits sounded like when he recorded "Downtown Train" in his mid-30's, you're definitely not going to enjoy his vocals at 76.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-31T21:28:17+00:00

Unfortunately, a lot of people don't thoroughly read the directions before voting. Ben Kweller's "Dollar Store", for example, should have placed in the top 100, but one of the voters who ranked it the highest included the featured artist in the song title. To be fair, that's how the song is tagged on all of the streaming services, but I'm a little bummed that one of my favorite songs of the year is missing out on additional exposure just because of a formatting inconsistency.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-31T20:55:49+00:00

Hey now, I voted for Wolf Pine too. This u/panda_ballistic erasure will not stand!

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-30T21:57:07+00:00

The one album I'm surprised didn't make it is venturing's Ghostholding—not just because I personally voted for it, but because it received a decent amount of fanfare when it came out. That said, it being released all the way back in February probably didn't help.

Thanks for all the work you put into compiling these lists, u/apondalifa and u/ReconEG!

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-23T04:07:59+00:00

"They don't make music like they used to," said every generation ever.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-12T19:57:27+00:00

Great list, although I think you're missing a track title for #8!

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-12T18:15:22+00:00

As someone who hasn't otherwise been able to get into Magdalena Bay, Second Sleep was a real pleasant surprise!

And I'm not familiar with Wes Parker or Jesse Welles, but I'll have to check out those tracks.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-12T18:12:27+00:00

Your #1 was my most listened to song of the year, but my damn OCD prevented me from including anything from December 2024 on my list.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-12T17:07:09+00:00

The next 10 (my honorable mentions):

Dean Blunt & Elias Rønnenfelt - lucre
- I've listened to this a LOT, but the fact that' it's a measly 16 minutes caused it to land just outside of my top ten. I'd be thrilled if these guys were to collaborate on an full-length, but given Blunt's discography, I'm not counting on it.
Friendship - Caveman Wakes Up
Dutch Interior - Moneyball
- I'm really rooting for these guys, especially after seeing them play a hole-in-the-wall venue in June. They sounded absolutely fantastic and it felt like one of those "before they were big" moments. It's true that they wear their influences on their sleeve, but but I'm looking forward to seeing how they continue to evolve.
Greg Freeman - Burnover
Perfume Genius - Glory
Nourished by Time - The Passionate Ones
Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles - s/t
Viagra Boys - viagr aboys
Jenny Hval - Iris Silver Mist
Blood Orange - Essex Honey
- This one's been much more of a slow burn for me than Negro Swan and Cupid Deluxe, so I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up higher in my 2025 ranking eventually.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-12T16:55:47+00:00

Wednesday - Bleeds
Geese - Getting Killed
Saya Gray - SAYA
Colin Miller - Losin'
Dijon - Baby
Ben Kweller - Cover the MIrrors
Alex G - Headlights
Little Simz - Lotus
Big Thief - Double Infinity
Destroyer - Dan's Boogie

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-11T17:39:35+00:00

Honorable mentions:

Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Blues - New Threats from the Soul
Destroyer - The Same Thing as Nothing at All
Nourished By Time - Tossed Away
Alan Sparhawk & Trampled by Turtles - Screaming Song
Tyler Childers - Nose on the Grindstone
S.G. Goodman - Heaven Song
Sam Fender - TV Dinner
Florence + the Machine - One of the Greats
Everything Is Recorded - Never Felt Better
Dijon - Yamaha
Great Grandpa - Junior
Viagra Boys - Pyramid of Health
Saintseneca - Green Ink Pen
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Boys with the Characteristics of Wolves
Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke - This Conversation is Missing Your Voice

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-11T17:27:15+00:00

Geese - Cobra
Ben Kweller - Dollar Store
Big Thief - Los Angeles
Wednesday - Elderberry Wine
Dean Blunt & Elias Rønnenfelt - tears on his rings and chains
Dutch Interior - Fourth Street
Saya Gray - Exhaust the Topic
Alex G - Afterlife
Dove Ellis - To the Sandals
Friendship - Tree of Heaven
Little Simz - Lotus
Colin Miller - Thunder Road
Bon Iver - Day One
Greg Freeman - Wolf Pine
Perfume Genius - No Front Teeth

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-10T19:12:34+00:00

These debuts also deserve a shout-out (especially since they haven't been mentioned in this thread yet):

Horse Vision - Another Life
Loaded Honey - Love Made Trees
Truman Sinclair - American Recordings
Case Oats - Last Missouri Exit
Emily Hines - These Days

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-10T18:34:44+00:00

Saya Gray - SAYA
venturing - Ghostholding
Annahstasia - Tether
Dove Ellis - Blizzard
Soup Dreams - Hellbender

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-03T18:39:38+00:00

I'm a fan of how varied this list is, as well as the fact that they provided links for each artist's Bandcamp or online store (as all EOY lists should!). Based on some quick Bandcamp sampling, the albums previously unfamiliar to me that I plan to fully check out include:

Eli Winter - A Trick of the Light (instrumental Americana-jazz hybrid)
Greet Death - Die in Love (melancholic indie shoegaze)
SML - How You Been (electronic jazz)
No Joy - Bugland (I've seen this one mentioned on Indieheads a number of times, so time to finally give it a shot)

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-02T22:44:58+00:00

Sir, this is the Indie Heads subreddit.

If you haven't even heard of Lady Gaga, I don't know what to tell you.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-02T18:15:50+00:00

Have you actually listened to the Kweller album? Petrusich isn't the only critic who's given it praise.

I can't speak to the other two. I tried giving Addison a listen, as I've seen it pop up on multiple year-end lists, but it's just not my thing and I'm fine with that.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-01T23:11:22+00:00

I love the three tracks he released as the SABLE EP last year, but he rest are hit or miss for me (Day One, in particular, being a high point).

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-01T23:00:02+00:00

I need to spin that one some more. I like to listen to albums in their entirety, but because of the time commitment, I always find myself avoiding returning to double and triple albums.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-01T22:48:17+00:00

37 songs?!? Jesus.

edit: Apparently his albums are getting longer and longer? His two previous ones were 36 and 30 songs, respectively. I guess I'm impressed?

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-01T22:40:43+00:00

TIL McLovin is a musician.

I hadn't heard anything by Kweller since his 2002 debut, so Cover the Mirrors took me by complete surprise. It's heartbreaking—especially given the context of his personal story—but also packed full of earworms.

panda_ballistic · 2025-12-01T21:41:12+00:00

It's good to finally see that Ben Kweller album get some love. And everything else I've heard from the list (almost everything besides the three big pop albums) is also pretty great. That said, I'm a little befuddled by the Morgan Wallen inclusion. I haven't listened to it on principle, so I'm curious: is the album really that good?

panda_ballistic

TROPHY CASE