We’ve reached the top 15 of albums I reviewed (not released) over the last five years. Read on to see who made the list!
#15: Maquina – Prata (2024)
That cover image pretty much sums up the sound of this wild post-punk / noise rock / dance rock album. It’s a stunning record, and I’m happy to report they’re close to releasing a new one.
#14: Lair – Ngélar (2024)
Indonesian psych-rock? Yes, please. Funky, groovy, weird, and playful. This is a delight from start to finish.
#13: Sextile – yes, please. (2025)
Possibly the best dance-punk album of 2025. This record slams non-stop and gets you moving whether you want to or not.
#12: Ki Oni – A Leisurely Swim to Everlasting Life (2023)
A beautiful album about grief, our continued, changed existence after death, and a salute to Ki Oni’s late grandmother all wrapped up in lush ambient music.
#11: No Joy – Bugland (2025)
A brilliant return for No Joy and their shoegaze rock. This album sprinted into the top ten of 2025 for me the first time I heard it.
Speaking of the top ten, come back tomorrow to see who’s in the top ten of the last five years!
I’m far behind on this, as it’s already mid-May 2026, but I’ve meant to create a list of my favorite records (and concerts, see other posts) of the last five years. I created such lists for my top stuff from 2020 through 2024, so I’m continuing the trend. Mind you, these are the top twenty-five albums I reviewed, not albums released during those five years. There were many excellent albums that slipped through the cracks. Enough backstory. Let’s get to it before this gets delayed yet again.
#25: Rochelle Jordan – Play with the Changes(2021)
This is a beautiful, funky, and sexy record that introduced me to Ms. Jordan’s music and instantly made me want to find out more about her work that mixes house music with R&B with ease.
#24: Brijean – Feelings(2021)
This lovely dream pop record came out of nowhere (for me at least) and floored me. They’re a fun duo who have yet to make a bad album.
#23: Ty Segall – Harmonizer(2021)
I was a bit surprised to hear Ty Segall embracing synthesizers and going into electronic music somewhat on this record, but then I wasn’t surprised because Segall is always exploring different genres and embracing his many influences. It was a cool surprise from him.
#22: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – The Silver Cord extended version(2023)
Speaking of cool surprises: King Gizzard goes full rave! There was the “regular” version of this all-synth album by the Australian psych giants and then this “extended” version of the album that I preferred. Once again, KGATLW showed they can adapt to anything they decide to play.
#21: Anika – Change(2021)
Haunting and gorgeous. That’s the best way I can describe this synthwave album from Anika. It snuggles / slithers up next to you and doesn’t leave for days.
Who’s in the top twenty? Come back tomorrow to find out!
I hadn’t heard of Dutch electro artist Joost Klein until a month ago when I heard him mentioned by a local high schooler. I asked my stepdaughter about him and she almost jumped out of her chair. “I love Joost!” she said and was even more thrilled when we learned he was playing in Chicago. The show was originally scheduled for Thalia Hall, but as you can see from that photo, they realized they needed a lot more space for the 3,000+ who showed up at The Salt Shed.
First on the bill was a DJ of sorts – ipadkid2001. I write “of sorts” because I’m not sure if this chap was a DJ or someone pretending to be a DJ. It might have been an act. The crowd was so jazzed that they screamed when ipadkid2001 just turned on the light above his turntables. He played an odd mix of songs, ranging from drum and bass bangers to The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” Most of these songs weren’t played all the way through. They were usually snippets or perhaps two verses and a chorus. At one point he played vocal samples that stated, “This is my first time DJing. I don’t know what I’m doing.” and “Wow, ipadkid, that transition was terrible.” I was willing to believe the first statement, and the second was accurate. There were so many awkward transitions between tracks that I wasn’t sure if they were intentional or not. Again, was all this a parody? I don’t know, and by the end I don’t think the audience knew.
A DJ set? A clever joke? I’m still not sure.
Klein’s DJ, DJ Chool, played a set that was so short that I wondered why he even bothered. I mentioned this to my stepdaughter, who rightly stated, “He’s just warming up for Joost.” He was both a DJ and a hype man, who was having a blast dancing around the stage for the few moments he had it to himself.
You were going to try cramming all these people into Thalia Hall?
Klein ran out on stage as soon as DJ Chool got back to his decks and the crowd went bonkers as he began with “Ome Robert” (otherwise known as the lovely ballad “Suck My Ditch, Bitch.”).
SMD, bih!
The whole show was as crazy as the opening number. Klein twice told the audience to look out for each other in the crowd and stay hydrated, once stopping before he started a new song so someone could be removed from near the front due to them being overheated.
My stepdaughter was delighted to hear “1,” and the younger folks in the crowd went nuts when he played a version of Crazy Frog’s “Axel F” while this Gen X’er was amused and baffled. I later told my stepdaughter, “I feel like I should know the story of the crazy frog.” Her response was, “It’s an old YouTube video.” I later learned it’s a Swedish animated character from Eurodance.
My stepdaughter: “He’s gonna play 1!”
Other fun highlights were “Tetetetete” – a Spanish song as a salute to Cinco de Mayo, the “We can all relate to this” track “TRAFIK!” (about being stuck in traffic), and the “We can relate even more to this” cut “Capitalism :D” (about both hating and needing work).
The work hamster wheel / toilet paper roll never ends!
“Zonder Jou” and “Europapa” were other big hits for the crowd. It was a fun show, and one that hadn’t been on my radar. Klein was genuinely appreciative of the crowd and response, commenting multiple times on how he was stunned by the number of people who showed up.
Be prepared to dance, and laugh, if you can catch him. It’s a good time.
I’ve long been a fan of DJ John Digweed. His mixing skills are top-notch and he’s one of my biggest influences when I break out my dusty decks. You can imagine my delight when I discovered this Live in Brooklyn Output five-disc collection for sale at a Gilbert, Arizona wrecka stow for twenty bucks. It’s almost a complete eight-hour set by him.
Digweed wastes no time in getting the place moving on the first disc with thumpers like Slow Hearts‘ “Dione” (the “Alexander Aurel She Wasted the Olymp” remix) sounding like something he beamed in from a club in the year 2150. Rampa‘s “Necessity” is a good example of Digweed’s looping skills. His transition from Last of Me‘s “Circle of Life” to the “Jericho Dub” remix of King Roc‘s “The Beginning” is so subtle that you almost don’t notice it. Kevin Yost‘s “Dancer Dancer” might induce a trance.
Tripmastaz‘s “Blossomz” starts off disc two with bass designed to get your hips and shoulders shaking. You can hear the crowd cheering as he quiets Rampa‘s “The Touch” and almost turns it into a motorik track. Lopezhouse‘s “Crosses & Angels” (the “Guy J” dub featuring Angela) smoothly rolls into the “Drifter” remix of “Let Your Body Control the Beat” by ZK Bucket. Isaac Tichauer‘s “Higher Level” (the “Bicep” remix) is another lesson in beat-looping. The Justin Martin remix of Claptone‘s “The Music Got Me” ups the bass and the team-up of Adam Port (who remixes the tune) and Stereo MCs on “Changes” will possibly have you tripping by this point.
The dub version of Collective Machine and Philipp Straub‘s “Revolution of House” is an early banger on disc three and slides right into Mia Lucci‘s sexy “Audrey Hepburn.” The Nick Curly remix of “It’s Time” by Gorge goes from house to haunted house and back again. The hand percussion on Inaky Garcia and Luisen‘s “Chimisi” is a neat addition to the beats in the set. Saints & Sinners‘ “Pushin’ Too Hard” (remixed by Guy Mantzur) is a perfect “chill house” track that’s ideal for the second act of this mammoth set by Digweed. He gives you time to adjust your posture, hydrate, find another spot on the floor, or just slow down your groove for a couple moments. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
You’ll need that breather for the start of disc four and Darren Emerson‘s “Osaka rework” of “Fanfare” by Mr. Emerson, Mr. Digweed, and Muir. The hot synths and electronic hi-hat sizzle across the floor-filling beats on it. We reach a weird euphoria just a couple tracks later on the “Love Over Entropy Repatterning” (whatever that is) of Fabio Montana‘s “Ortygia.” “Chirality” by DJ Tennis is another thumping bumper of a track that practically crawls into the pajamas of Mantzur’s “Blooming Fields.”
Disc five starts with the nearly ten-minute-long “2 Miles Away” by Rodriguez Jr. I’m sure the audience at Brooklyn’s Output club were somewhere between raved-out bliss and desperately wanting and needing some eggs and hash browns by now, so Digweed gives them a late night / early morning dream track with “Jetlag” by Tiefschwarz and Ruede Hagelstein. The rolling synth-bass of André Galluzzi‘s “Bold” is great and will wake you right up if you’re dragging from dancing all night. The crowd is still cheering, whistling, and jumping during Citizenn‘s “Confide.” They give him a loud send-off as he closes with Ian O’Donovan‘s “Seeker.”
It’s a stunning recording, and a clinic on how to put together a mammoth set.
I’m guessing 9 Hours Ahead got their name from the time difference between the two members – Breeze in Amsterdam and Namastrange in San Francisco. Together, they put together their Smooth SailingEP and, despite the time difference, created one of the best house music records of 2026 so far.
The title track uses seagull cries, looped hand percussion beats, and undeniably catchy beats to get you moving. The breakdown and comeback in the middle of the track is so slick you might fall off your boat and into the ocean from it.
“Meridian Space” bumps and thumps with thick bass drum hits and then the even thicker synth bass drops in so thick you could spread it on your pancakes. “Transatlantic Dreams” is probably another reference to the time and space gap between the two DJ pals, and it’s a killer cut suitable for dancing, action sequences, and HIIT workouts. I love the old school synth blasts in it.
The EP ends with the Bliss Inc. remix of “Meridian Space” that makes the beats snappier and the bass a bit menacing while adding what sound like alien transmissions to the track.
Add this to a few of your playlists. You’ll dig it.
Keep your mind open.
[Sail over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
After moving to Stockholm, Sweden, drum and bass / techno / breakbeat producer and D Enduser had to adjust to the extreme changes in seasons there: Long periods of darkness, long periods of sunlight, extreme cold, perfect sunny days. The experience was, I’m guessing, unsettling at first. This might’ve led to the title of his new album, Unquiet, which is anything but quiet.
Starting with “Trial By Fire,” Enduser immediately begins layering beats and rhythms with trip-hop sounds to ignite something under your feet and in your chest. The “Lost” mix of “Turning Point” could be the theme music to your new favorite streaming TV show about a mysterious organization or town or a group of hackers. The beats of “Northern Tribe” slither and sizzle with drone synths behind them. “Broken Branch” is pure industrial fury and menace. The “Decay” mix of “Waiting,” believe it or not, brightens things up a bit with lighter synths and bouncier beats.
“Street Lamp” has an Orbital-like quality to it with its big drums and soft synths. The “Homemade Weapons” remix of “Where I Found You” is another standout with big, thumping bass and lurking synths. Nowan‘s remix of “Northern Tribe” makes the song, somehow, bolder and brasher. SCRWZ‘s remix of “Cabin Fever” will get the whole place jumping.
Another thing I like about Unquiet is, much like Enduser’s Swedish landscape, it gives the songs room to breathe. The shortest song on the record, the album mix of “Where I Found You,” is just under five minutes in lengths. Most songs are at least six minutes long. They change shape, stretch, retract, and pull you in different directions – to the dance floor, a shadowy corner, a warm bedroom, a cold forest. It’s meant to upset the quiet around you but also help you appreciate it.
Orbital‘s second album doesn’t really have a title (like their first). It’s commonly known as “Orbital 2” or “The Brown Album” (Because, you know, the cover is brown…and their first album is sometimes called “The Yellow Album” because, you know, the cover is yellow.).
Regardless of what you call it, it’s a techno classic starting with the Lt. Worf-narrated “Time Becomes” that lets you know time will loop, curve, and rebound on itself across the span of the record. The looped sample of “Even a stopped clock can give the right time twice a day.” on “Planet of the Shapes” further explores this theme of stretched, repeated, and warped time. Once the drums kick in, you’re dancing for almost nine straight minutes.
The next four tracks become one long, beautiful techno suite. Starting with “Lust 3-1,” and then drifting / floating / bumping / bouncing through “Lush 3-2,” “Impact (The Earth Is Burning),” and “Remind.” The first of the quartet has become a primer on what early to mid-1990s electronic music was at the time: Bright synths, big beats, and transcendental grooves. “Lush 3-2” flows right out of it and, somehow, becomes even better for dancing. The layered beats on it keep driving you forward, getting your heart rate up and your joints lubed for the third part of the suite. “Impact” is over ten minutes long, so I hope your cardio is good. By the time you get to “Remind,” you’re pretty much in an industrial club.
The repeating synth groove of “Walk Now…” is top-notch, bringing in sizzling house riffs on top of rave beats. “Monday” is almost an ambient track, amd “Halcyon + On + On” has become a rave classic by this point, having been remixed by probably hundreds of DJs across the years. It uses sampled female vocal sounds to lovely effect and the beats on it are crisp. It will throw you back into the early Nineties right away if you were anywhere near rave culture then.
The whole album will do this, even the weird “Input Out” ending with its strange, repeating sample that becomes almost hypnotic by the end. “The Brown Album” (not to be confused with the Primus album of the same name) still holds up today as prime rave music.
At first listen to Mandy, Indiana‘s new album, URGH, you’re not sure what’s happening. The first track, “Sevastopol,” hits you with industrial synths, robot vocals, thudding drums, and warped orchestral sounds all in the same track.
URGH, like all Mandy, Indiana (who actually hail from Manchester in the UK) records, is multi-layered (like the album’s cover) with its instrumentation and subjects, but the overall theme seems to be rage. Mandy, Indiana are, like most of us, just pissed off right now and not afraid to call people out on their bullshit. The album’s title could be spoken as a tired sigh, a guttural growl, a response to a gut punch, or a grunt of hard effort.
“Magazine” tackles one of their favorite subjects – the objectification of women and the impossible standards women are expected to meet. “try saying” mixes video game bloops with wild processed drum sounds from Alex Macdougall and looped French vocals from Valentine Caulfield.
“Dodecahedron,” believe it or not, reminds me of early, heavier Art of Noise tracks. “A Brighter Tomorrow” could be a rallying call or a warning, depending on which side of history you’re choosing. I lean more toward it being a warning of sorts since Scott Fair‘s guitars sound like alarms blaring in the distance. “Life Hex” is a rager and feels like the bubbling anger under the surface of so many of us.
“ist halt so” combines big drums hits with guitars that sound like a belt sander on its last bits of battery charge while Caulfield commands your attention with her snarled vocal delivery. “Sicko” throbs with thick synths and electro-bass and includes guest bars from Billy Woods. “Cursive” is a bumping and bubbling techno track with beats that blend industrial pulse with tribal dance rhythms.
URGH ends with “I’ll Ask Her,” a wicked takedown of toxic masculinity, women’s beauty standards, and dudes who are such pricks that they don’t even realize their own friends are calling them out on it. Caulfield has made it no secret that she was dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault (and other health issues, along with Macdougall having his own health problems) while writing this album. She and the rest of her bandmates pull no punches on the song or anywhere else on the record.
It’s an urgent record, a powerful record, a cathartic record, an inspiring record. It’s a record we need right now to get us out of the housefire, get our friends, family, and neighbors, out of theirs, and then find the bastards who lit the matches.
The cover of Klangphonics‘ 2021 album Songs to Try takes an image of a forest and the sky above it, flips it, blurs it, and makes it something intriguing. The album does much the same with our perception.
In case you didn’t know, “deep house” is a thing, and Klangphonics might be the best proponents of it. The German trio eschew traditional DJ methods (How weird is it to write that?) and opt to create live electronic music from a blend of acoustic and electronic instruments (or sometimes household objects, tools, and even a riding lawn mower).
“Great Plains” starts off the record with dance grooves and drums that feel right at home in a night club or the Grand Canyon. The switch halfway through to the meditative song become a straight-up house banger is stunning. “Holocene” brings in Anna Metko on guest vocals that give the track a brightness that’s difficult to describe but lovely to experience.
“Dendrometry” (the study of the sizes and shapes of trees) is perfect for your morning run through the woods with its bumping beats, “wind through the leaves” synths, echoed birdsong, and encouraging bass line. “White Flower” takes off like a race car and doesn’t look back. “Heliosphere” uses Carl Sagan’s speech about all of us living on a speck of dust in a sunbeam to excellent effect and sends us out on an uplifting note.
The whole record is uplifting and intriguing…and danceable. These three are high on my must-see list now.
The first is Rico Casazza‘s remix of “Reach the Nucleus” (and a shorter radio edit of it closes the EP). It’s a lush track with Fille’s breathy vocals mixed well with thudding bas and bright synths that burst like sunlight through clouds. Alienata‘s take on “Portals” is a bit spooky and might open a portal to a creepy (yet sexy) dimension if you play it loud enough.
Sestrica remixes “Time Is a Circle” with sizzling electric cymbals and just enough distortion to make the slick dance track a little trippy. Clouser takes “Thistles” and makes it into a somewhat goth track that sounds like a rare B-side you heard once in a club and have been searching for decades to find.
It’s a slick EP from start to finish. You’ll love it for your next workout or dance playlists.
