Jim Testa

Paul Silver

Richard Quinlan

James Damion

Oliver: Harmony Corruption

---

JIM TESTA'S TOP 2025 ALBUMS
(in alphabetical order)

DAUBER – Falling Down (

HORSEGIRL – Phonetics On And One (Matador)
The Chicago trio graduates from high school and sets out to explore the world, three female spirits whose command of language and hooks belies both their age and experience.

BEN KWELLER - Cover The Mirrors (The Noise Company)
Reeling from the loss of his teenage son to a tragic accident, Ben Kweller returns finds an alchemy that allows his grief to transform into the joy Kweller has always found in music.

JEFFREY LEWIS - The Even More Freewheelin’ Jeffrey Lewis (Don Giovanni)
The last scion of the Lower East Side's Anti-folk movement, Jeffrey Lewis tackles insomnia, aging, girlfriends, and death with his trademark mix of witty wordplay, gallows humor, and earworm melodies.

SHAME – Cutthroat (Dead Oceans)
In a banner year for Lad Rock (Viagra Boys, Mclusky, Idles, et al., Shame sharpens their attack, brighten their melodies, and actually allow their shirtless frontman to sing rather than just bark the lyrics.

SLONK DONKERSON – Upgrade To Premium (Self-Released)
Returning after a 10 year hiatus, these Brooklyn -rockers unleash a torrent of power-pop delights that recall both class popcraft and the satirical snark of the Lower East Side in the Seventies without a hint of retro nostalgia-baiting.

SUPERCHUNK – Songs in the Key of Yikes (Merge)
Thirteen albums and 35 years into a career of uninterrupted excellence (save for an extended hiatus in the '00's,) Superchunk seem sharper, angstier and more relevant than ever, adding political bite and razor-sharp commentary on modern life while remaining one of the catchiest acts in Indie.

WET LEG - Moisturizer (Domino)
Rhian Teasdale and co-writer Hester Chambers may not be reinventing the love song on their sophomore album but they're coming close, bringing sincerity and passion to a project originally known for its intrinsic silliness. The sense of humor remains but competes with a newfound wonderment about love, and a denser, meatier, more fully-developed sound helps to expand the template as well.

YAWN MOWER - I Just Can’t Wait To Die (Mint 400)
Asbury Park’s Yawn Mower combine fuzz-core and power-pop into a clever and distinctive brand of indie-rock. What sets these mooks apart is how catchy their misery sounds. It’s that blend of sludge and sunshine that makes them more than just a novelty. It’s a noisy, sarcastic, hook-stuffed middle finger to both your bad day and the looming specter of mortality or, in short, the most Jersey thing you’ll hear all year.

Top LP's & EP's for 2025

NOVACANE – "That Numb Feeling" EP (Brassneck Records) – released Feb 1
This is the band’s debut EP, and the songwriting is top notch and the arrangements are spotless. The songs have an urgency and excitement about them that’s very attractive, and the playing and singing are energetic and enthusiastic.

AUD WHITSON – "A House That Can’t Get Quieter" EP (linktr.ee/Audwhitson) – Released Feb 7
It only took one track for me to fall in love with Aud Whitson, the singer-songwriter from Lawrence, Kansas. “A House That Can’t Get Quieter” is her debut EP, and it’s absolutely stunning. The stripped back arrangements and bedroom recording feel are perfect for these intimate songs, and the deeply personal lyrics are moving.

THE TAXPAYERS – Circle Breaker (Ernest Jenning Record Co.) – released March 21
This is a wonderfully varied album, with songs that blend jazz, classical, and traditional spiritual folk, with rich and unexpected instrumentation, songs that are twisted jazz-funk-noise-rock, glorious epics, a melancholy waltz full of loneliness, and a funeral dirge about the endless news cycle swirling around us and our dwindling freedoms. This album is a journey, with a full range of emotions. This gets one of my highest recommendations.

ŸDEG – Elme (It’s Eleven Records) – released March 28
Ÿdeg mix aggressive post-hardcore and Revolution Summer style emo quite effectively, presenting songs that are edgy and sharp, hitting hard, yet flow smoothly at the same time, and you can hear the anger and despair in the vocals. While Ÿdeg’s songs are rooted in influences from the past, it’s also firmly set in the present, sounding vital and alive, never stale or dated.

NELL SMITH – Anxious (Bella Union) – released April 11
Nell Smith was just starting her career, only 17 years old when she passed away in a car accident just over a year ago. She was preparing to release this, her debut solo LP when tragedy struck. This album a document that reveals a massively creative soul, a top-notch singer and songwriter. Smith’s singing is beautiful and ethereal. There are interesting choices in the arrangements and production. Even the tracking was done thoughtfully, alternating bright pop numbers with pensive songs. And one thing that strikes me about these songs is how even the bright poppy tunes have a tinge of sadness to them, a sense of poignancy. There are ten songs on this album; about 40 minutes is all we get to remember Nell by. But what a 40 minutes it is.

THE SLEIGHTS – This One’s Gonna Hurt (thesleights1.bandcamp.com) – released April 25
The Sleights play punk fucking rock! Most the of album is speedy and aggressive, barn burning punk rock, played with a fiery passion. Hell yeah! The songs have solid pop punk melody, but they’re played much harder than typical pop punk, reminding me a lot of the Chicago school of poppy punk rock.

PERSONALITY CULT – Dilated (Dirtnap Records) – released May 2
Is there such a thing as the perfect blend of garage, punk, and power pop? Personality Cult proves the answer to the question is a resounding YES. The songs on “Dilated” have a powerful drive, huge impenetrable walls of guitar, urgent vocals, and more power pop melody than you can shake a stick at.

M(H)AOL – Something Soft (Merge Records) – released May 16
M(h)aol’s sophomore full-length LP is the opposite of its title. While the basic song structures of indie rock are there, the arrangements are gritty and abrasive, hard and edgy. The topics are hard, too, in this gloriously unconventional LP filled with a range of noise, experimentalism, and emotions. “Something Soft” is one of the fiercest and most blistering albums you’ll probably listen to this year. Strongly recommended!

HLLLYH – Uruburu (Team Shi) – released June 27
Rising from the ashes of DIY music collective Mae Shi, HLLLYH’s music is built from “spastic drums, guitars, hoots, hollers, claps, and candy-coated synths.” This is a perfect description, because the album has a bright, glorious feel to it. It sparkles and shines. The 15 songs on the album are impossibly gleaming and luminous. There’s a mix of indie and pop punk, but performed in the most unconventional of ways. “Uruburu” is one of the most creative records I’ve heard this year. Hell yeah for HLLLYH!

OMO CLOUD – Mausoleum (Dusty Mars Records, Silver Girl Records) – released June 27
Absolutely stunning. Omo Cloud is the alter-ego of San Diego born and raised Cole De La Isla. Omo Cloud’s music can best be described as ethereal indie. The arrangements are heavenly, ranging from feathery and diaphanous to thick, dreamy, and almost grungy in some songs. Some of the songs reach near orchestral level of gorgeous complex arrangements, while others evoke the theatrical. Omo Cloud’s debut LP is one of the most touching, emotional, and wonderful records I’ve had the privilege of listening to so far this year.

BIG LIFE – "The Cost of Progress" EP (Setterwind Records) – released August 1
Big Life is Michigan’s answer to the DC/Dischord Records scene. Think Embrace, think Rites of Spring, maybe some Gray Matter. Hell, the whole Revolution Summer sound from the mid-eighties and the evolution of the sound into the 90s is here. The hardcore lineage is there, but the songs are tempered with melody and, dare I say it? Emotion. The instrumentals are crunchy and melodic, and the vocals are passionate. The album is exciting and current, with songs that ponder the dystopian nightmare our world has become. Big Life has successfully taken sounds from the past and brought them to the present, giving them exciting new vitality.

FAULTY COGNITIONS – They Promised Us Heaven (Dead Broke Records) released September 26
Though still based in the pop punk tradition, this new LP shows a real maturity in songwriting and playing, with wonderfully jangly guitars, solid arrangements, top notch hooky melodies, and thoughtful lyrics. It’s clear that Faulty Cognitions has matured beyond their origins, and even beyond any of Mason’s previous bands. This second album is filled with excellent material that’s highly recommended.

SMUG LLC – "New Exciting Doom" EP (Anxious and Angry) – released October 3
Single Mothers’ Drew Thomson has a new solo project, and it features an 80s post punk vibe, with thrumming bass lines, like Joy Division/New Order, plenty of synths that buzz or that provide shining ambience, and the vocals are done in a poetic spoken rap style. The six songs feel both retro and modern at the same time, a remarkable achievement. The beat is strong, making the songs eminently danceable. Smug LLC is a new unique sound that I can really get into.

VOLK SOUP – 10p Jazz (Dipterid Records) – released October 3
Volk Soup don’t fuck around. They play brutally noisy post-punk music that’s laced with free jazz, and dark attitude. It’s controlled chaos meets poetic intent. This is manic-depressive stuff, with moods rapidly shifting and unexpected instruments jabbing their way into the arrangements. Besides trumpet and sax, I hear piano, violin, guitar, bass, drums, and synths. Vocals are sometimes delivered in a twisted lounge-style croon, sometimes angrily shouted – in the same song! Volk Soup is sonic guerilla warfare art. They’re gloriously unpredictable. Top recommendations.

RADIOACTIVITY – Time Won’t Bring Me Down (Dirtnap Records) – released October 31
Radioactivity’s third outing still features fantastic songwriting based in up-tempo garage punk, with forward-propelling rhythms and massive chugging guitars. But time has given the band time to slow down somewhat and breathe. While some of the songs on this LP are quite similar to past Radioactivity albums, many of the songs focus more on expansive melodies and arrangements. I would estimate that the split between the older, thicker sound and the newer more indie sound is about 40-60. And I’m fine with that. Because fast or moderate/slower, tense or relaxed, Jeff Burke is still a great songwriter and Radioactivity are a solid band. A+

NEGATIVE BLAST – Destroy Myself for Fun (Three One G Records, Vitriol Records) – released November 14
The eight songs on this mini-LP blast (it clocks in at just about twenty minutes) are brutal hardcore, but many of them have actual melodies, some of which are almost poppy. But they’re all tough and powerful, just not the modern brand of screamy chaotic hardcore. This is tight furious music. Negative Blast may be a newer band, but they’ve got a lot to say and they’re a formidable force. Check this one out.

THE BROKEDOWNS – Let’s Tip the Landlord (Red Scare Industries) – released November 21
Every song on this new LP from The Brokedowns is crunchy, angry, powerful punk rock performed with solid melodic intent. Vocals are delivered with appropriately high levels of rage, each of the thirteen tracks ready to knock you for a loop. And though the overall sound is the usual bright one we expect from The Brokedowns, this may be their darkest album yet, delivered with all the irony you expect. Excellent and highly recommended!

VARIOUS – Cult & Culture On Wax, A Planet B Podcast Compilation (Three One G Records) – released November 21
This release is a compilation of many of the artists that have appeared on Justin Pearson’s “Cult & Culture” podcast, with musical tracks (many previously unreleased) interspersed with snippets of conversation. It features performers like Martin Atkins, Mario Rubalcaba, ADULT., Sonido de la Frontera, The Exploited, The Locust, and more. If you’re ready to broaden your musical horizons beyond the big punk festival acts and want to listen to some real artists, this is highly recommended.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Abduction - Existentialismus (Candlelight Records)
This is staggering beauty and brute force combined into a stirring record. Abduction has moved from a one-man project into a ferocious, fully fleshed out act.

Mercy Ties - Reflections and Criticisms (The Ghost is Clear Records)
After almost ten years away, Mercy Ties plays music that is merciless, yet also technically dazzling. This is heavy, intelligent, and unrelenting.

Saor - Amidst the Ruins (Season of Mist Records)
Andy Marshall is a genius, and this black metal outfit integrates the genteel and the devastating into a brilliant record.

Voice Imitator - Of How Hits (12xU Records)
This Australian post-punk act throws everything from noise-core to shocking minimalism into a complicated and highly inventive release.

This Gift is a Curse - Heir (Season of Mist)
TGIAC is a Stockholm-based act that eschews subtlety for crushing brutality, playing a style of blackened metal that is unforgettable.

Coffin Feeder - Big Trouble (Listenable Records)
This is an all-star team of Belgium’s best extreme music musicians that bring rage and limitless energy to kick new life into hardcore-infused death.

Deadguy - Near Death Travel Services (Relapse Records)
Think about where you were thirty years ago: Were you better now than what you were then? Deadguy is. This is a pummeling record that continues the revolutionary style that Deadguy forged in the 90s. If you have not found this, do it now.

Hooded Menace - Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration (Season of Mist)
Moody and crushing metal from a band willing to deliver a Duran Duran cover. Hooded Menace is a fascinating and unrelentingly heavy act.

Foggy Otis - When Life Gives You Lemons, Play the Ukelele (foggyotisuke.com/store)
John Raido delivers the rarest of objects in 2025: Something that actually makes you feel good and brings pure joy. Maybe you do not think you need a ukulele, but you do. With inspirational lyrics and brilliant metaphors, this record is a gem.

Travels with Brindle - No. 1 in Heaven (travelswithbrindle.bandcamp.com)
It takes remarkable courage to re-record a classic record like No.1 in Heaven from the Sparks, but it is even gutsier to do it with a ukelele as the primary instrument. Travels with Brindle (Chelsea Spear) is limitlessly talented and offers a loving homage to a record she adores.

Ladies and idiots! Welcome to the first annual Barfy’s. The award show for the best in unlistenable noise! 2025 was a great year for “music” that sounds like my bowel movements after eating Arby’s so, without further ado, let’s get into the filth!

The Cronos Leather Jockstrap Award for Best Black Metal album:
True Iron Will – The Spirit of Steel (Nuclear War Now!)

The Lars Ulrich Memorial Award for Best Snare Sound:
Sulfuric Cautery – Killing Spree (Blast Addict)

Best Demo That Proves I’m Still With It Even Though They’ve Changed What ‘With It’ Is!:
Nathair – S/T

Best Album With the Most Illegible Band Logo:
Mephitic Corpse – Sickness Attracts Sickness (Headsplit)

They Made Bold Sound Good?!?!:
Stomach – To The Positive Youth (Rage Deposit)

The Jim Testa Award for Most New Jersey Based Release:
Siege Column – Sulphur Omega (Nuclear War Now!)

Most Barf-tastic Album(s) of 2025:

Yep! A Three-way tie! Dude, my brain is fried. I can’t make any more decisions this year. That’s it! If I didn’t include your favorite album here, uh, go fuck yourself! Post-awards reception at the dumpster behind the 7-11. After party at your mom’s house. Hopefully 2026 sucks less! - Oliver

Favorite Albums, EP's, and Singles

Yellow Couch Music – Tidings in the Rough (Bandcamp)
Easily my favorite and most diverse release of the year. This collective reminded me of the early to mid-90s Neo-Soul movement, which brought together a diverse pool of talent.

Citizen – Everybody Goes to Heaven (Bandcamp)
As much as I love the alternative rock band Citizen and enjoy much of their catalog, Everybody Goes to Heaven’s 10-year reissue introduced me to an album I somehow missed. This album redefines the power of great alternative music. Dark and emotive. No matter who you are, there is nothing like being treated to music that makes you feel something.

Modern Baseball – The Perfect Cast (Anniversary Reissue) (modernbaseballpa.com)
As someone who often finds his favorite artists long after they’re gone, this Philadelphia band will most likely remain young long after they penned their last song or played their last show. The Perfect Cast shows Modern Baseball at their ultimate creative peak. Why is a record released in 2015 being marketed as a 30th anniversary reissue? No matter, this is hardcore emo at its height. Everyone and everybody needs to invest in this band’s catalog.

DJO – The Crux (DJOmusic.com)
The brainchild of English actor Joe Keery (Stranger Things,) DJO provides all the feels and connections one might have forgotten exist in an electronic-based album. Whether or not intended, I felt the influence of acts ranging from Kraftwerk to MGMT.

Radioactivity – Time Won’t Bring Me Down (Bandcamp)
Fast-paced, energy-fueled power-pop-adjacent rock and roll. I know very little about Radioactivity or where they’re from. However, Time Won’t Bring Me Down is one the best gifts to surface late in the year. Countless listens of this uplifting album will surely have me searching for more music and information regarding Radioactivity.

Home Front – Watch it Die (La Vida Es Un Mus)
Canada’s Home Front came to me as a recommendation from Dennis Lyxzen (Refused) and his heavily recommended YouTube channel, Dennis' Deep Cuts. Though referred to as a post-hardcore band, Home Front's diversity and 80's new wave, synth, and, dare I say, Oi influences set them apart. McKinnon’s vocals are aces. And the quirky, uplifting synth sound is like a free pass for a ride on a time machine. An absolute must that will surely blow your mind.

Deaf Doula – 2057 (Bandcamp)
Though not a singles kind of guy, few songs have introduced me to an act with similar authority or the absolute awe of Deaf Doula’s “2057.” Deaf Doula, featuring Ev Gold (Cinema Cinema) and Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop,) combine forces and noise-rock experience to create one of the darkest yet most atmospheric and uplifting songs known to mankind. Listening to "2057" is like be lifted unto the void before being sucked into an alternative universe. I shit you not.

back to jerseybeat.com l back to top