The Recent Year of Listening

Picking up from where I left off on last year's music blog. Spotify calculated that I listened to 101,903 minutes of music over the past year. I continued my trend from 2024 and before of pushing into more aggressive metal music while simultaneously spending a lot of time with alternative and pop-style artists that got me into music years ago. My top artists, in order, were The 1975, Deftones, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Sleep Token, and Spiritbox. Here's how the year played out. 

January consisted of a lot of long, quiet days studying. As usual, during these days I listened to a lot of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross scores while studying. I got into their Vietnam War score for Ken Burn's documentary. The tracks "Less Likely" and "The Forever Rain" have a desolate feel to them that is great for thinking. I also stumbled into Jason Hill's two scores for the TV show Mindhunter. Quite eerie and dark, but nice for work. 

Near February I got into Spiritbox's first record, Eternal Blue, and listened to it a lot while working out. As with most of the metal music that I'm into, the mix of screaming and striking melodies from front woman Courtney LaPlante are impressive. I highly anticipated their sophomore effort, Tsunami Sea, and was really impressed with the result. "Fata Morgana", "Perfect Soul", and "A Haven With Two Faces" were all killer songs. I was fortunate enough to see them live in Madison in April and it was nothing short of a killer show. One of the most exhilarating live shows I've seen. 

On the other hand I was introduced to Tyler Childers by a friend in February (I know I'm late). "Shake The Frost" is an immensely moving track. My favorite discovery of the year also happened in February. Another friend introduced me to the Irish alternative rock band Inhaler. They have a great sounding mix of alternative rock and pop sensibilities (frontman Elijah Hewson is Bono's son so some of the influences are obvious). Their third album Open Wide, was released in late February and I really enjoyed it from front to back. Along with their first album It Won't Always Be Like This, Inhaler have made quite a mark in the scene. I expect them to keep getting bigger. 

In March and April I went through an intense re-discovery of a long-time favorite band of mine, The 1975. Driven by their recent, phenomenal live albums At Their Very Best and Still... At Their Very Best, I was simply reminded of Matty Healy's genius songwriting and went on to discover a lot more of their tracks that I had never heard off of Notes and A Brief Inquiry. Their first live album is nothing but continuous fun and their most recent effort, Being Funny In a Foreign Language, cemented them as a great band. Everyone who was around me this year knew that I was most likely listening to The 1975 when they saw me. See more praise for them in my post from May 2025. 

Sleep Token's long-awaited album Even In Arcadia was released in early May. Solid, no-thrills Sleep Token record that followed directly from the previous record. I listened to this record a lot throughout the summer and really enjoyed most of the tracks, especially "Dangerous", "Provider", and "Emergence". Seeing Sleep Token continually rise in popularity has been exciting to watch. Well deserved for adding something nuanced to the metal space.

My summer consisted of a lot of 1975, Deftones, and Sleep Token. Lots of memorable nights walking around downtown Boston after dark listening to more cinematic tracks including "Fallingforyou", "About You", "Closer" (Kings of Leon), and "Dublin in Ecstasy".

Sometime in June I happened to be in a pub where Purple Rain was played from front to back. What a record. 

In July, Deftones surprised everyone by releasing the single "My Mind is a Mountain" and announcing Private Music. The single was hard hitting, distinctively Deftones, yet refreshing. Chinos' screams and Carpenter's soaring guitar lines hit like a train and reminded listeners that Deftones is exceptional at what they do. Private Music, released in August, was no different. From front to back this record was extraordinary and an instant classic. Though Deftones have been around for over thirty years now, they continue to be reliably exciting and push the boundaries. Private Music was undoubtedly my favorite record from this year.

I was one of the lucky fans that managed to get a ticket to see the Oasis in August at Soldier Field. Oasis was one of the first bands that I was obsessed with in middle school, and since they broke up in 2008, I never expected to see them live. Thus this was an amazing experience. Everyone on the field knew every lyric to every song and was jumping along to every tune. Singing tracks like "Bring it on Down", "Live Forever", "Slide Away", and "Talk Tonight" with tens of thousands of other fans was incredibly visceral. Sometimes the audience was louder than the band. For me, this was up there with seeing U2 live. Just unbelievable. 

The Fall continued with lots of Deftones. Joining the regulars then was Die Spitz (Something To Consume is great), The Police, Alexisonfire, and more Inhaler. I saw Leif Vollebekk at a small venue in November. His talented band and the small venue made for a memorable, intimate experience.

Into December I stumbled into the Australian metal band Thornhill when Spotify put on one of their songs for me while I was shuffling music. Not since finding Sleep Token in 2023 had I been this blown away by a band I had never heard of after one song. Further, their newest album, BODIES, is full of fervent, hard hitting tracks. The riffs are immensely heavy, every snare drum hit is like a punch, the screaming is harsh, and the melodies are alluring. Paired with lyrics full of desire and toxic relationships makes for quite the combination. Similar to Sleep Token, but with a rougher, more raw feeling. Additionally, Thornhill's music videos for "Silver Swarm" and "nerv" present a young band with unapologetic style and innate energy. I'll be listening to BODIES on repeat for a while. 

Looking forward to finding new music and rediscovering past obsessions in the coming year. 

Carsen