Pederson's Playlist: Top 25 Albums of 2025

And just like that . . . it's been a year since I've added anything to this blog. I wish I could say that 2025 was a productive year in terms of creativity for me, but I think the exhaustion of having five kids finally caught up to me. That's not a complaint. It's an observation. I am not in my twenties anymore and all of the things I used to make fun of my dad for are now happening to me. My bones make noises when I get out of bed. Heartburn is the gift that keeps on giving. I can fall asleep mid conversation like a champ (just ask my wife). I'm aging like a fine bottle of supermarket whiskey passed around at a frat house. Aging is a great. One thing, however, that I am still just as incredible at as I was when I was younger, is belting screamo songs out at the top of my lungs. Surprisingly, this year I didn't just listen to new music by old bands I loved when I was younger. I stumbled upon some new ones. I'll put everything in order of how much I enjoyed it this year, because imagine my surprise when Apple Music told me that I had listened to over 300 hours of Dance Gavin Dance. I'm sure that's not even close to how many hours people have sunk into the new Taylor Swift album this year.

On a more serious note, there seems to be a common theme in a lot of the music I've listened to this year. There are some pretty sobering commentaries on the state of our world, politically, societally, and spiritually. There are questions being asked that need answers. How do we navigate all of this? Everybody and everything has an agenda. We're being conditioned to hate each other and to take our views and opinions to extremes. How do we survive this? Where is the hope in all of this darkness? Who are we in the midst of this chaos? I'm glad to see so many musicians tackling these existential questions.

Okay, here's the list . . .

25) Of Mice and Men - Another Miracle

I have absolutely no musical talent, so I can't justify this being one of my least favorite albums of 2025 based on the idea that "I can do better", because I can't. Maybe I'm stuck in a bygone era where Of Mice and Men were putting out solid bangers for every track. "Second and Sebring" would start playing on the radio, and everybody would sing along when they got to that line about baby scars. I miss that version of this band. I also realize that 2010 was fifteen years ago, and I'm basically acting like one of those former football players, who show up to their old high school's football games and talk to other former football players about how they'd beat the other team if they got out there again. This is a good metalcore album, but it's not a great album.

24) Alexisonfire - Copies of Old Masters Vol. 1

I remember talking about Alexisonfire in front of my uncle one time, and he told me to go put her out. It took me several minutes to understand what he meant. He thought he was funny. As a dad, I probably would have made the same joke if my kids brought me a band with a name like this. That being said, I always get excited when I see new Alexisonfire music coming out. They're one of those bands that only puts music out when they're ready, and isn't out to make money or relive their glory days. This album is only four tracks, and it sounds nothing like the music that put them on the map, but that's not exactly a bad thing. The opening track "Neighbourhood Villain" sounds like Alice in Chains meets Days of the New, and as a fan of early grunge music, I loved it. Alexisonfire is one of those bands that has never locked themselves into a genre, and their ability to stay under the mainstream radar gives them a bit more freedom than most. Like I said, this is a short album, but definitely worth a listen.

23) Armor for Sleep - There Is No Memory

Armor for Sleep is one of those bands that I absolutely loved when I was in high school. The album "What to Do When You Are Dead" was essential listening for both emo kids and genre fans alike. I sort of fell off their music after their first two albums, so I was excited to see something new coming out from them. While it's possible that my taste in music has matured a bit since 2005, this album was definitely nostalgic, but not one I felt inclined to listen to over and over again.

22) My Ticket Home - Pure to a Fault

My Ticket Home is another band that I hadn't thought about since their 2010 debut, "The Opportunity to Be". Where most post hardcore and screamo bands have been trying to evolve through a more mainstream, hard rock sound, My Ticket Home's latest album has gone in the complete opposite direction. We're not at Warped Tour anymore because things just got pretty dang heavy. There's a lot to be said about a band that can mature and build upon the heavy sounds that started their career. "Pure to a Fault" isn't genre-defining by any means, but it's loud and powerful . . . and worth the time it takes to listen to this album's twelve heavy tracks.

21) Scary Kids Scaring Kids - Maps Written in Water

I'll just come out and say it, this was the most surprising album of 2025 for me. Nowhere on last year's bingo card did I have Taylor Hanson teaming up with Scary Kids Scaring Kids. With the plethora of '90s pop stars trying to come back from irrelevancy, one of the Hanson brothers was definitely an interesting choice. I will go one step further and say that it's actually a really great track. Now, don't get me wrong, we all miss Tyson Stevens (rest in peace), but this band moved forward with innovation, and I'm always excited to listen to new music by them.

20) Finger Eleven - Last Night on Earth

Let's go ahead and forget about the 2007 pop rock banger "Paralyzer". I have been listening to these guys since the 6th grade. I think "Greyest of Blue Skies" is an incredible album, made even better by the fact that it was featured in the 1991 Dragon Ball Z feature film "Lord Slug". Naturally, like any great fan, I always hoped that Finger Eleven would one day get their time on the radio. Never did I imagine that KROQ would eventually beat the song "Paralyzer" to death and make me really just not want to listen to them anymore. Several years later, "Last Night on Earth" came around, and it is an album that clearly pays tribute the musicians that inspired Finger Eleven, while also opening a window the past that made this band so amazing to begin with. Whether you're a fan of Nu-Metal, Progressive Rock, or the psychedelic rock bands from the late '60s and early '70s, this is an album that takes you on an adventure through music history.

19) Blessthefall - Gallows

What happens in the pit stays in the pit . . . except for Beau Boken's shoe apparently. The year was 2009 and my brother and I, along with a couple of friends, one of which I didn't know would one day be my wife, went to a Blessthefall show at the Anaheim House of Blues. My brother and I had spent some time in the pit and my brother had somehow walked away with a shoe. Apparently, it belonged to the lead singer, who had jumped into the crowd. I'm pretty sure he gave it back, but I can't remember. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this band. Gallows is a fantastic album that takes pieces of their earlier music and cranks the heaviness up several notches. I'm glad to see the post-hardcore movement is still going strong.

18) Wind Walkers - I Don't Belong Here

This is a band that I just discovered this year (2025). My wife bought us tickets to Our Last Night's final tour, and this particular show happened to be at Emo's Austin. It was a pretty spectacular venue. I'd been to shows that were standing room only, but this venue had stage visibility everywhere you stood. Wind Walkers was the first opener, and they pretty much melted our faces. Their music is so heavy, but then it switches to this almost electric pop sound for brief moments before the guitars kick back in and the screams rip your ears off. I have never heard anything like it. I highly recommend everybody check these guys out.

17) Yellowcard - Better Days

If a new Tony Hawk game came out in 2025, it would definitely feature a majority of these songs. Travis Barker, Matt Skiba, Avril Lavigne, all of the early 2000s skate rockers are present. As hard as they've tried Yellowcard can't seem to stay retired, and I absolutely think that's a good thing. This band has become intertwined into so many core memories of my high school days and many of the moments that shaped who I am. Ocean Avenue is like a musical photo album, and I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard each and every one of those songs. Better Days is almost a spiritual successor to that album, bringing back everything that made Yellowcard so memorable.

16) The Devil Wears Prada - Flowers

The Devil Wears Prada is a band that has evolved, but hasn't quite evolved out of the genre that made them popular and that most definitely is not a bad thing. Flowers is both a walk down memory lane and a look into the inner psyches of a group of musicians who have been doing this for the past two decades. It tells stories about battles with grief, addiction, change, loss, and life. It's quite beautiful, and even more so after a few listens. What really kills me about this album is the crap it's been getting from "Christian music" publications, telling people to boycott the album because the band no longer considers itself a "Christian" band, a fact that is often muddled together with the lead singer's use of swear words during concerts. What do I think of that? Who cares? Why does music have to have a religion? Honestly, many of the post hardcore/screamo musicians from the 2000s were Christian bands, but the church discarded and abandoned them when they no longer served their purpose. It's heartbreaking. And don't even get me started on this new Kingdom Core movement. Most of the Kingdom Core bands are just overproduced worship bands that would sound like Hillsong if you turned the amps down. To the lads in The Devil Wears Prada, forget the haters. Keep doing what you're doing. Flowers is a masterpiece.

15) Norma Jean - Norma Jean From Nothing (Audiotree Version EP)

Norma Jean is like that one kid in high school that could hang out in any friend group. I suppose you would technically classify Norma Jean as a metalcore band, but they've never been afraid to break the rules of genre. In fact, much like The Devil Wears Prada, they, too, were labeled early in their career as a "Christian band", but lead singer Cory Brandan has always been quick to shut that down, always reiterating that question: Why does music have to have a religion? Though their messages often have deep theological questions and meaning, their music is for everyone, and that's a message I can get behind. As for my earlier comment about them being that one kid in high school, Norma Jean has not only pushed the boundaries of genre, but they've teamed up with a variety of musicians over the span of their career from Chino Moreno of the Deftones to Cove Reber of Saosin and more. This EP takes the band back to their roots, and I tell you . . . they've still got it.

14) Acres - The Host

Acres is probably the most interesting band I have on this list, as their career has been a roller coaster of reinvention. I've always enjoyed their music and the feeling of ambient wandering it has brought me. There hasn't been a single release by them that I haven't enjoyed or gotten lost in. As an English teacher, I often listen to music for lyrical content, even just subconsciously. "The Host" is probably the deepest album I've listened to all year. Its themes capture the very essence of what's it like to be human, as we wrestle with internal conflict on a daily basis. We know there are things in our lives that are bad for us, but some of them feel like things we can't live without. Is there a balance or do we let it consume us? These are the things this album wants us to think about.

13) Underbrook - Was Happiness Too Boring For You?

I used to get on iTunes once a week and just cruise the new releases for new bands to listen to. Only once did I do that this year, and I'm glad that I did, because Underbrook's "Was Happiness Too Boring For You?" is an album I can't imagine not having listened to. Fun fact, the lead singer of this band is the popular DJ Marshmello, whose real name is Chris Cornstock. Unlike Sonny Moore of Skrillex fame, who started their music career in a band, Chris started a band after already having a career as Marshmello. "Was Happiness Too Boring For You?" is an album that takes you back to the 2000's when bands like Blink 182, The Offspring, Sum 41, and others were filling the radio with upbeat sounding anthems about life. Check out this album, I promise you won't regret it.

12) Dayseeker - Creature in the Black Night

"Creature in the Black Night" is an interesting album, it's still holds onto some of the heaviness of previous Dayseeker albums, but its use of electronic sounds and sacrifice of the roaring vocals makes this one of those albums that is thematically closer to a film score than a post-hardcore album. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't make it unworthy of being listened to, but it's something you need to listen to with a different mind set than you would with their previous releases. The album is basically a collection of short stories, each talking about the struggles of being human. It doesn't matter how positive we are or how much we think we're in control of things, especially relating to the deepest parts of our hearts, we all have trauma and we all have darkness. What we do with those things and how we handle them is exactly what Dayseeker sets out to explore in this album.

11) Thrice - Horizons/West

Thrice is a band that has reinvented themselves with every album they've put out. They went from hardcore to post-hardcore to progressive rock to alternative and beyond. No band has defied classification as much as Thrice. What hasn't changed, however, is the lyrical depth of Dustin Kensrue's writing. With each season of life and theological pondering he experiences, so do we. "Horizons/West" is the perfect album for the times we live in as it explores themes of identity, manipulation, shaped reality, and new beginnings, while also searching for spiritual belief in a world full of chaos. This is an album that navigates the pursuit of hope, while wrestling with where to find it. If you're looking for musical substance in your life "Horizons/West" is a great place to start.

10) Moving Mountains - Pruning of the Lower Limbs

Moving Mountains is a truly unique band. The way they mix semi post-hardcore moments in their music with ambient progressive rock makes you feel like you're wandering through a forest that's floating out in space. It doesn't matter if you understand the lyrics or not, there's something about the music that brings about self-reflection. This has been true of every album they've ever put out. from 2007's Pneuma to 2013's self-titled album. "Pruning of the Lower Limbs" feels like a sequel of sorts to everything that came before. Where the earlier albums talked about navigating life and change, this album focuses on the present and living in it with gratitude. This is where you are. Stay a while and live.

9) Silverstein - Pink Moon

Instead of releasing one standard length album, Silverstein released two mini albums this year titled "Anti-Bloom" and "Pink Moon". I guess you can call the complete project a concept album, the themes of which serve as a juxtaposition of each other. Where "Anti-Bloom" is a commentary on the chaos of our modern world and the human condition, "Pink Moon" represents inner peace and acceptance. Placed in the scope of our current reality, these ideas seem to be in direct conflict with each other. Politics, social media, society, all of these forces have very specific ideas of what is and isn't right, or is and isn't acceptable. Everybody has an agenda. How does the individual prosper against the collective? "Pink Moon" manages to maintain the new heaviness that Silverstein seems to have found in their later years, but still manages to appeal to your emotions through the rawness of their lyrical content. "Pink Moon" is an amazing album, but it should definitely be listened to in tandem with "Anti-Bloom" for the full experience.

8) Slow Joy - A Joy Even Slower

Of all the new bands I listened to this year, Slow Joy has been my absolute favorite. While they're classified as an alternative band, they sound more like a grunge band with emo lyrics. I think that's why it appeals to me, because it mashes my two favorite musical genres together. The song "Wound" specifically stands out, as the lead singer asks, "How can all of you be so happy when I'm hurting this much?" That is probably the most human thing I've heard in any album for a long time. "A Joy Even Slower" is honest and doesn't try to sound like more than it is. It's not overproduced. It's not trying to sell records or get radio play. It's an introspective on just trying to figure it out.

7) Athletics - What Makes You Think This Is How It All Ends?

I remember the first time I ever listened to Athletics. I was fresh out of high school, and looking for music that had that ambient reflective sound, which seemed to be the only thing that could tap into my emotions back then. I was looking for anything to help me feel something, and bands like Moving Mountains and Athletics were exactly what I needed. I know that sounds incredibly "emo", but I was in fact very depressed and not in a great spot mentally or just in life. Stumbling upon "Why Aren't I Home?" is probably one of the greatest things that ever happened to me, mentally. I have so many memories connected to that album. I had thought that Athletics were finished as a band, so when they started putting out new singles for the eventual release of "What Makes You Think This Is How It All Ends?" I was ecstatic. The album was everything I expected it to be and more.

6) Adept - Blood Covenant

I feel like Adept is one of those bands that I got to age alongside of. Sort of like when people have been listening to podcasts for a really long time, and you feel like you and the hosts have become friends based on how long you've listened to them. I feel like the lads from Adept are old high school friends, and when they release a new album, it's like getting together for a drink and catching up. 2010's "Another Year of Disaster" will always be one of my all-time favorite albums, because it absolutely speaks to the confusion and chaos of being fresh out of high school and trying to figure out life. Meanwhile, this year's "Blood Covenant" (their first new album since 2016) feels like an evolution of emotion and maturity. If listening to it can be compared to seeing that old friend at a high school reunion, you would think to yourself, "Wow, they're doing alright".

5) Motion City Soundtrack - The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World

I know I'm probably not alone in this, but if my ceaseless anxiety were to have its own voice, it would sound something like a Motion City Soundtrack song. 2005's "Commit This to Memory" is an essential album for anybody who ever identified as "emo" and grew up in the early 2000s. One thing I've always loved about this band is that they're able to maintain their signature sound while evolving lyrically. You can listen to each of their albums and resonate with where they are in life. They're like the Bruce Springsteen of the pop punk emo genres. They make music that everybody can relate to. This album speaks to the struggle between living in the present and the past, while facing the concept of growing up head on. It talks about the chaos of the modern world and how the only way we're going to make it is through our humanity and cherishing our connections to each other. Where a lot of bands are singing about small rays of hope in these dark times, Motion City Soundtrack's new album focuses on the more personal things that we have the power to change and maintain. "The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World" is a shot of hope in a dive bar that's been closing down for years.

4) Beartooth - I Was A . . . Live

I don't know if Caleb Shomo ever dreamed that his music would be this big back when he was slamming those keys and belting those screams in Attack Attack!, but dang Beartooth is a powerhouse in the metalcore scene. Honestly, though, I think a lot of Beartooth's success is just from the band being full a really nice people. This is a belief that echoes in their music and their live shows. So, this album might be cheating because it's a live album, based on the album they put out 2024, but even live and repackaged, these songs are incredible. If you haven't had a chance to listen to 2024's "The Surface", it's never too late. I know I've been doing parenting right, when my 12 year old knows the words to every song.

3) Deftones - Private Music

I've said it once and I'll say it again, I think the Deftones are a band full of transcendentalists. There's something about the dreamlike soundscapes of their music and even the lyrics that makes you feel like you're connecting to something bigger than yourself. They're the perfect band to listen to while driving through the woods, in the crisp hours of the morning. Chino Moreno has become somewhat of a household name in the past twenty years, as his voice is perfect for duets of any genre. His team-ups with Dance Gavin Dance and Norma Jean are two of my favorites. There had been a lot of rumblings about new music by the Deftones in the earlier part of the year, and when they finally delivered, it was well worth the wait. This is another band, who has definitely matured since their freshman and sophomore releases. The philosophical content in this album is something that goes well beyond the ponderings of classic writers and into things that I can honestly say are essential for existing in the modern world. Like most albums by this band, you just have to listen to it. I'm afraid no amount of words by me is going to do it justice.

2) Deaf Havana - We're Never Getting Out

My dad phrased it so perfectly when he said that James Veck-Gilodi is essentially my generations storyteller. The things that people in their thirties have experienced throughout the many different stages of their lives and are dealing with now are captured flawlessly in this album. This is something that Deaf Havana has always done so well, and why people have stood behind them for all of these years. 2009's "Meet Me Half Way At Least" captures what it's like to become self-aware of your own feelings and learning how to be a person. 2011's "Fools and Worthless Liars" speaks to the struggles of growing up in those post high school years, when the world is at your feet, and after years of romanticizing the "real world", facing a struggle to survive and longing for simpler days. 2013's "Old Souls" chronicles growing up and experiencing loss for the first time, while realizing how precious time is. 2017's "All These Countless Nights" is an honest portrayal of loneliness and struggle, while fighting the things we turn to to combat it. 2018's "RITUALS" is a search for meaning in the fallout of maturity. 2022's "The Present is a Foreign Land" is a struggle to come to terms with aging, missing the days of our youth, and the despair that comes with the fear of never knowing when or if things will get better.

It seems like the lads in Deaf Havana have been through every spectrum of human emotion that one can think of, When "We're Never Getting Out" finally released, I wasn't sure what to expect, but this is probably the most human album they've ever released. It's an honest introspective on second chances, not letting the past define you, and moving forward. It still has plenty of lyrical content about nostalgia for better days, but it focuses a lot more on rebuilding after periods of turmoil. There's a profound vulnerability in this one that will resonate with anybody who listens to it. Yes, these are stories for my generation, a time capsule for a demographic who has been crushed by the world enough times, it's surprising anybody is still walking.

1) Dance Gavin Dance - Pantheon

Dance Gavin Dance's career has been an interesting one. They've released so many albums, they've almost built an entire universe of lore out of the reoccurring themes and song titles. I've started to look at their catalogue in the same way I look at Coheed and Cambria's music. It's a collection of stories meant to encapsulate the great adventure of being human. I had no idea they were putting out a new album this year. With all of the turmoil and controversy surrounding the departure of clean vocalist Tilian Pearson, I wasn't sure what would happen to this band after 2022's "Jackpot Juicer". I went into "Pantheon" somewhat skeptical, and found myself pleasantly surprised. So surprised that I apparently listened to about 300 hours of this band on Apple Music. I don't know if I did that consciously or if it was just playing in the car and I didn't notice.

Let's talk about this album for a minute. I might have been one of the few who didn't think that the title of "disgraced singer" was one worthy of being placed on Tilian Pearson. Yes, the guy needed help, and his behavior was not at all acceptable, but all of that doesn't make me not want to listen to old albums by Dance Gavin Dance. I think there are definitely scandals out there that are a lot worse. That being said, I wasn't super optimistic about an album being good without him, but I was 100% wrong on all accounts. "Pantheon" is a masterpiece. I really appreciate the existential themes in this one. It speaks a lot about the pressure of just existing in this current political and societal climate we're in. Like what do we do with all of this? Nobody is thinking clearly anymore or capable of being objective. The album doesn't just ask these questions, it talks about navigating all of it without giving into it. Don't get me wrong, it's still filled with the anxiety ridden post-hardcore sound the band has always been known for, but there is obviously some maturity happening in these songs. It's playfully absurd, but through that absurdity you might get a glimpse of the very truths we tend to regularly avoid.