NNWNF's Top 100 Tracks of 2025: 20-1
Well, we got there eventually. This was meant to drop between Christmas and New Year, but I've been so busy in the day job, I've not had time to fart.
Anyway.
In the most calculated and protracted countdown of 100 of the best things of a thing committed to a blog this year, this one takes the absolute biscuit. We're finally down to our top 20 tracks of the year. So take a read of why we chose them, have a listen to each track and and then you can go and crack open a beer and pretend you'll get that gym membership soon. We hope you enjoyed the countdown and found some songs that passed you by over the last 12 months or merely confirmed your already impeccable taste. Knowing you lot, it's probably a bit of both.
Happy New Year everyone!
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20) PERFUME GENIUS - It's a Mirror
The work of Michael Hadreas - aka Perfume Genius - has often been found to flit between the conventional and the avant garde with an adeptness that few songwriters can match. Seventh album Glory produced plenty of chew over, with lead single It's a Mirror another fine example of Hadreas' ability to craft beautifully understated, left field pop about the darker elements of the human soul.
19) JUNIOR BROTHER - Small Violence
One of the more unique songwriters on this list is the extraordinary Junior Brother. The work of Ronan Kealy won't be for everyone certainly, but there's never a dull moment. Small Violence was the lead single for current album The End which takes it roots from trad Irish folk certainly, but has just as much love for the eccentricities of Daniel Johnson and Sparklehorse coursing through it's veins.
London band Laughter are a difficult one to pigeon hole. The band grew up with multiple genres on their playlists and this shows with excellent single Future. The track features heavily distorted guitars that are complemented by the nonchalant vocals of singer Mai; the finished article is an intelligent take on the indie rock blueprint that very much makes them ones to look out for in 2026.
17) KATHRYN MOHR - Prove It
There can't be too many albums in 2025 as sparse and desolate as Kathryn Mohr's Waiting Room; let's just say this, she certainly isn't likely to be doing too much layering in the mixing process. Highlight isn't really the word, but Prove It is nothing short of a brooding, soul-sapping statement that leaves you needing a big cuddle. In the best way possible.
16) BAXTER DURY - Allbarone
The title track from Dury's ninth studio album Allbarone is a contender for the most active and persistent ear worm of the year. An electro-pop banger with a call and response chorus, it's one of Dury's most immediate singles to date, but manages to keeps his dark, frantic energy front and centre.
15) PULP - Spike Island
It's been a triumphant year for Pulp. The band came back together after the death of former bassist Steve Mackey in 2023 with the aim of celebrating their history, but also coming to terms with loss and the aging process. The result was new album More, with single Spike Island a joyful return that reminds you just how great this band can be.
14) MODEL/ACTRIZ - Cinderella
Model/Actriz are quite the live proposition; as I witnessed myself at Sicily's Ypsigrock Festival in 2024. Until this year, they hadn't quite captured that frenzied live energy on record, with previous efforts falling slightly short of the mark. February single Cinderella however, found them reach the sweet spot. Blending post punk guitars with industrial rhythms, the track allows the extravagant vocals of Cole Haden to steal the show; as should always be the case.
13) GUERILLA TOSS - Red Flag to Angry Bull
Guerilla Toss have been floating around the fringes for some time and 2025's You're Weird Now found them ready to take it up a notch. Lead single Red Flag to Angry Bull has some high profile collaborators in the shape of Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and Phish's Trey Anastasio, and it makes for one of the most fun tracks of the year. The band's singer Kassie Carlson duets with Malkmus over a band that are never afraid to think outside the box. Anastasio provides a solo that elevates the song without stealing the show and the result is one of the most rewarding singles of 2025.
An album of complete surprises to us here at NNWNF was from Swedish multi-instrumentalist Anna von Hausswolff. Iconoclasts featured collaborations from the likes of Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain and was an album full of rich melodies, but also wasn't afraid to create a sinister mood. The epic Struggle with the Beast is simply astounding work; building from a saxophone riff, it transforms into - if you excuse the pun - a completely different beast. The erratic and sometimes terrifying nature of the track is all the more explicit in the knowledge that it was inspired by a friend's descent into psychosis.
11) LIFEGUARD - It Will Get Worse
Chicago's Lifeguard seemed to come out of nowhere in the middle of the year, with debut album Ripped and Torn sounding like a band with several albums under their belt. The band signed to Matador Records in 2023 and released their debut for the acclaimed label in the summer. It Will Get Worse is head and shoulders the strongest track on the album; a frantic post punk anthem with nods to Mission of Burma and Gang of Four; a remarkable feat considering not one member of the band have made it to 20 years old yet.
10) VIAGRA BOYS - Man Made of Meat
Swedish oddballs Viagra Boys have always been the entertaining nearly men; the guys you'd have an incredible party with, laugh with until you cried and made inappropriate jokes with about niche sexual practises. Their live shows have always been a riot, but perhaps they've never quite got it right in the studio; that was until 2025's viagr aboys album raised their game. Lead single Man Made of Meat is not only hilarious, with references to subscribing to "..your Mom's Onlyfans" and being on the internet "..looking at feet", but it also brings out their capability to make you dance as well as laugh more than ever before.
Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson had her biggest year to date in 2025. The Irish songwriter released her 3rd album EURO-COUNTRY in 4 years that pushed her further into the public consciousness than ever before. A show-stealing performance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, certainly did her stock no harm either. Title track EURO-COUNTRY laments a failed relationship in the middle of rising fame and shows that CMAT can hang with the likes of Lana Del Ray and Taylor Swift, by making intelligent and euphoric pop anthems with universal themes.
8) TWO-MAN GIANT SQUID - Weird Recordings (you've got some)
Brooklyn's Two-Man Giant Squid returned with their self titled album in 2025 and it was instantly on regular rotation in these parts. The album saw the band further progress and improve on the nuances of their already impressive catalogue. Several tracks from the album could easily of made our top 100, but Weird Recordings (you've got some) is a standout. Written after an argument between front man Mitch and wife (and keyboardist) Sam about over-thinking the creative process - the song is playful, catchy and dripping in insightful witticisms.
7) TURNSTILE - Birds
I'm still in shock to be honest. I never thought I'd see the day when Hardcore crossover bands would have their moment on a much bigger scale than previously seen before. TURNSTILE have gone from the next big hopes to the arguably the biggest new rock band on the planet in the space of one album cycle. Never Enough took the chaos of previous releases and added some pop savvy to the mix, making them hooky and palatable to a much bigger audience. Birds is the track that seems to endure the most and has become a fan favourite, with wild scenes on their world tour when the band played this frenetic beast of a track live.
Whilst their Southern counterparts have been - quite rightly - getting plenty of praise for their creative efforts in 2025; Northern Ireland has also been seeing some fascinating releases of their own. Junk Drawer came to our consciousness here at NNWNF in 2022 with their excellent Tears in Costa single. The band returned with new album Days of Heaven, which took their intricate, melodic blueprint in a new direction. Single Nids Niteca was built around a jam inspired by an old Belfast shop sign shrouded in mystery due to it's name and apparent lack of use. The band create a punchy, melodic soundscape that recalls Devo and early Parquet Courts, and it never fails to leave you satisfied and wanting more.
5) RETROPXSSY - Pieces of the Picture
London-based rapper and singer retropxssy is not new to us here at NNWNF as previous singles Speeding and All The Things made our 2023 and 2024 countdowns respectively. 2025 saw her release full-length album I Haven't Told Anybody and wade into new territory whilst keeping to her short, but sweet formula. Pieces of the Picture sees her harness a chopped up Nu- Metal influenced guitar riff and reflect on the exhaustion of modern life with a sneer in her voice that hits as hard as anything she has done to date.
4) WESTSIDE COWBOY - Don't Throw Rocks
There aren't too many bands getting the levels of critical hype that Manchester's WESTSIDE COWBOY have had to endure in 2025. The hype train can derail at any time with a badly thought out single choice, so thankfully they decided to release a single that surpassed even the wildest of expectations with the sublime Don't Throw Rocks. It's a charming track that never fails to raise arm goosebumps; from the dueling vocals, to the life-affirming guitar line and the minimalist, propulsive drums; this is a band that will be much bigger after the release of their So Much Country Til' We Get There E.P in early 2026.
It's not often that a song with barely over a 1000 streams on Spotify enters our top 100 so highly, but Insider Trading's Jury has been floating around NNWNF HQ since the release of their astounding From Leith To New York E.P in April. The Edinburgh band's E.P is without a doubt our favourite of the year, challenging, compelling, beautiful and dangerous - with depth that reveal themselves after continued listens. Jury is the closing track from the E.P and is so damn good that every time I listen to it, I press repeat instantly. In fact, I'm going to put it on now. Then I'm going to press repeat. Then I'm going to smash my face into mirror like when Coop from Twin Peaks gets inhabited by Bob. Spoiler alert: It really is that good.
2) DIARY - Stevie
Pop is never a dirty word here at NNWNF, and if a song has the kind of chorus that stays in your head for about three months straight then all the better. New York's DIARY are a band that flit between the dark and the light with relative ease, and their single from May is a fine example of them bathing in a glow of infectious sunshine. With perfectly weighted jangly guitars and a sing-a-long chorus that is practically impossible NOT to fall head over heals in love with, Stevie is an absolute triumph. Despite the rumours, it has absolutely nothing to do with me either. A new album arrives in 2026 and if Stevie is any evidence of what is to come, it's going to be well worth the wait.
1) McLUSKY - People Person
I don't need to tell you how much I love mclusky. This band have been a big part of my life for 25 years, so when they returned, signed to Ipecac Records and then released The World is Still Here and So Are We in May, it was always going to go down well on a blog that named itself after one of their old tracks. Several listens of the album revealed a band still as enthused by the process of writing and recording as they always had been; a familiarity combined with a wisdom of experience made these songs work on a different level.
I could have picked most of the tracks from the album as our track of the year, as the album really is that strong. In fact, it has probably changed several times since I started writing this post. I settled - after much deliberation - on the phenomenal People Person. Released as one of the early collection of singles, it perfectly distills the rage and anxiety of middle age with a resigned sigh, but also a steadfast refusal to accept. It's like infamous Michael Douglas film Falling Down refined into three minutes of punk rock bliss - granted there is less senseless murder. Lesser bands have been influenced by their brilliance, but now mclusky are back and People Person is the perfect example why they are band that truly matters.
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