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!
oday Lisbon trio MAQUINA. announce details of their forthcoming new album ‘BODY TRANSMISSION’, set for release on July 10th via Fuzz Club. Along with the news they share two singles and the first batch of extensive touring plans for this year, including UK dates next month.
MAQUINA. embody all the sweaty togetherness and euphoria a collective music experience has to offer. The buzzy Lisbon trio have been getting punks to dance and club kids to pogo – “making the bubbles connect a little bit” – with such fervour they routinely pack out venues and inspire multiple waves of crowdsurfing at any given live show, with over 250 gigs and numerous festival appearances across Europe already under their belt. Still on a high after their first tour of Brazil and KEXP performance, the three-piece ring in a new chapter with their second LP ‘BODY TRANSMISSION’: a head-banging trip through high-energy noise-rock, motorik metal, and industrial punk that doesn’t stop moving.
Today they start the party with the high-octane thumper “pressure/pleasure”, staring into the strobe lights with pounding beats, threading a little ‘00s electroclash through a backbone of chuggy, thrashy guitar.
Second single “agony”, also online today is equally unapologetic in its delivery, both snarling and visceral – fitting for a politically charged lightning bolt written during our current moment of intense global conflict. “False speech / is belief / is distraction / to deceive,” spits Halison Peres, reminding us that art cannot be created in a vacuum. “It’s about the false speech that politicians always try to push, towards some enemy or something, to deceive what they really want to do,” reflects Peres of the track, which depicts a ‘no man’s land’ where humanity finds itself stranded amid misery and chaos.
Bottling the raw power of their now-legendary live shows, ‘BODY TRANSMISSION’– co-produced by the band alongside Hugo Valverde – arrives following MAQUINA.’s 2024 debut ‘PRATA’, also released on Fuzz Club and largely driven by improvisation, locking itself into the flow state of a live performance. For their new full-length, the band – Halison Peres (drums/vocals), José “Mendy” Rego (bass), and João Cavalheiro (guitar/effects) – opted for less jamming and more “editing”, taking time to mull over the direction of each track while also looking to condense 10-minute meanders into three or four-minute “bangers” that slap.
The result is a full-body rush geared towards the dance-floor with “no breaks”; a club-ready rock record steered by the trio’s guitar, drums, and bass combo. “It was the most challenging and fun we’ve ever had in the studio because we pushed ourselves to write songs rather than just capturing jams,” say the band. “We wanted it to feel heavy, focused, and relentless. We kept the tempo up and the energy peaking – it’s an ‘always-on’ record.”
MAQUINA. live dates: 01/05 – Barcelona, ES @ Miceli Fest 09/05 – Barreiro, PT @ Gasoline (DJ Set) 15/05 – Nijmegen, NL @ Sonic Whip 17/05 – Todmorden, UK @ The Golden Lion 18/05 – Glasgow, UK @ Flying Duck 19/05 – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny 20/05 – London, UK @ Downstairs at the Dome 21/05 – Paris, FR @ Garage Mu Festival 22/05 – Den Haag, NL @ Sniester Festival 23/05 – Le Havre, FR @ Foul Weather Festival 30/05 – Freamunde, PT @ Route 66 19/06 – Santa Maria de Lamas, PT @ Basqueiral 20/06 – Lucerne, CH @ B-Sides Festival 21/06 – Martigny, CH @ Caves du Manor 23/06 – Bilbao, ES @ Kutxa Belza 24/06 – Madrid, ES @ Cafe Berlin 25/06 – Santander, ES @ The New 26/06 – Bergerac, FR @ La Claque Festival 27/06 – Paimpol, FR @ Paimpol in Rock 28/06 – Bourlon, FR @ Rock in Bourlon 04/07 – Sintra, PT @ Festival Aqui ao Lado 18/07 – Lisbon, PT @ Musa de Marvila (DJ Set) 31/07 – Constância, PT @ Rock ao Luar 06/08 – Aveiro, PT @ Novas Quintas Teatro Aveirense 07/08 – Nürnberg, DE @ Brückenfestival 09/08 – Liege, BE @ Micro Festival 16/08 – Santiago de Compostela, ES @ Capitol* 10/09 – Sibenik, HR @ Ship Festival 12/09 – Orleans, FR @ Hop Pop Hop Festival *supporting Amyl And The Sniffers
We’ve reached the top of the peak. Who’s the grand champion? Read on to learn more.
#5: Fake Youth Cult – White Light / Black Noise
This stunning industrial / darkwave album is loud and heavy enough to cause the damage seen on this cover. This album came out of nowhere for me and about knocked me out of my chair.
#4: Maquina – Prata
Speaking of heavy damage, the cover to Maquina’s Prata album appears to feature a piece of steel that’s been shot, pried, scratched, and gouged. It’s a fitting image for a record full of wild noise punk, assaulting post-punk guitars, and grindhouse vocals.
#3: LAIR – Ngélar
This Indonesian funk / psych band was one of my top discoveries of 2024. They blend traditional Indonesian music with psych-rock, South Pacific juke, and other stuff you can’t quite define.
#2: GUM / Kenny Ambrose-Smith – Ill Times
Possibly the best collaboration of the year, this album combines the powers of two excellent Australians to create synth-psych that covers a lot of heavy topics with uplifting beats (i.e., the death of a parent – Kenny-Smith’s father, fear of the future and your place in it). I hope this isn’t just a one-time thing for them.
#1: A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer
I mean, come on. One of my favorite bands creates an album that has a record sleeve that’s also a circuit board that you can turn into a real synthesizer that they also used to make the album. Only APTBS could pull off something like this and make an excellent record to go with it. It’s like a Moebius strip of post-punk psychedelic power that wallops you from the first note.
Onto 2025! Which albums are you anticipating the most?
