2025: songs and shows
Music not in surrender
If 2025 had a mood, it might be this song released on Christmas Day 2024, by a man who once sang a seasonal track titled “There’s Lots of Conflict and Distress During the Festive Season”:
Speaking of seasonal songs: I heard about “Wildfire Season” by Jobi Riccio, an American newcomer, from Carl Wilson who heard it from Ann Powers who probably heard about the artist from Marissa R. Moss. I wish, though, that I heard it on a mainstream radio station every single day.
Below is Riccio performing a song she wrote in 2020 at Newport in 2024, a song about how:
Wildfire season’s here again / each year it’s harder to pretend we’ve been doing all we can / each year we’re harder to defend …
each year it’s harder to pretend it’s just a ‘season’
It’s a song that sadly shows no sign whatsoever of going out of season.
The song itself is bare-bones, dead simple, three-chords, which, ideally, should make it easily adapatable for every pop star and punk band and country singer to include in their set. Mind you, they’d need pipes like Riccio’s to truly pull off the ascent in the melody.
On a more upbeat note, during this darkest day of the year:
Obongjayar – “Not in Surrender”
Because I put this on four different playlists throughout the year without realizing it — every time I heard it felt as thrilling as the first time. This Nigerian-British artist also plays a big role on Little Simz’s Lotus, an album that deservedly showed up on many year-end lists (including mine).
Highly limited but very creative choreography in this video, which you should TURN UP LOUD and stay UP ALL NIGHT:
My favourite albums of 2025 are here. This week’s live music listings are here.
More singles further below, but first:
Top live shows of 2025
I saw 50 live shows this year. Five of them were musical experiences that don’t even really qualify as shows. They were events — or, in one case, a theatrical production.
Oct 22 David Byrne at Massey Hall. More of sensory feast than just a concert. Hard to believe he could top American Utopia, but he did on this tour. Reviewed here.
May 9 Let’s Get Friendship Right at the Garrison. A tribute to Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip by the band’s peers, inheritors, and plenty of new faces, all of whom exceeded all expectations and brought out deep cuts. Full points to the house band. Variety shows are never this good: this was three solid hours of gold, and felt downright historic. Disclosure: I successfully suggested a few names to the organizers, but otherwise had really nothing to do with this. Reviewed here.
Dec 14 Tami & Jay Neilson at Bridgeworks, Hamilton. One of the greatest living vocalists welcomed her beloved brother back from a coma, for the first time on stage since his brain injury — this was far from your typical gig, and no dry eyes in the room, crying all the happy tears. Reviewed here.
Nov 21 Paul McCartney at Copps Coliseum, Hamilton. Some of it was great, some of it was — well, as good as it can be from an 83-year-old legend aiming to please everyone. But this show is review-proof, really, because we’re talking about a BEATLE and I felt blessed to be there with my child. Reviewed here.
July 18-20 Hillside Festival in Guelph: This festival will always be on this annual list, almost no matter who’s playing. This year, Mexico’s marimba monarchs Son Rompe Pera stole the show. Also: Femi Kuti, Bibi Club, Lex Leosis, Kelly McMichael, Ventanas, Steve Poltz, etc. — plus all the other non-musical reasons I rarely miss a Hillside. Reviewed here.
10 more shows that sent me floating home from the venue and filled me with joy for weeks afterwards.
In reverse chronological order:
Nov 29 The Dears at Sonic Hall, Guelph. Coming back with something to prove. Reviewed here.
Nov 10 Robert Plant at Massey Hall. I went in with high expectations. Plant and his band exceeded them. Reviewed here.
Oct 7 Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Population II at Lee’s Palace. A re-run of my favourite live show of 2024; I’m not complaining. Reviewed here.
Oct 4 Project Nowhere: Mystery Lights at Garrison; Cut Cult at Bsmt254. Best thing about a festival like Project Nowhere is witnessing two acts you’ve never heard of before deliver mind-blowing sets. The former is an NYC garage-rock band; the latter is Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck’s fantastic new fuckery. Reviewed here.
Sept 10 The “Pogues” at History. Surviving able-bodied members were enlisted into their own tribute tour by younger peers, with a band twice the original size, for a set that doubled as a joyous wake. Reviewed here.
June 14 Perfume Genius at Concert Hall. Pure majesty. I left this show slightly less heterosexual. Reviewed here.
June 6 Art d’Ecco at DoWest Fest. The man and band behind the most underrated Canadian rock record of 2025 wowed unsuspecting passers-by. Don’t miss them if/when these Victorians return. Reviewed here.
April 25 Change of Heart at Sound Garage. It’s entirely in character for Ian Blurton to open this comeback show by playing the excellent new album in full, nostalgia be damned, before hauling out an avalanche of still-underrated classics, the older the better: “Pat’s Decline,” “Directions for Going.” Reviewed here.
April 23 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at Meridian Hall. It had been more than a decade since I’d seen Cave and his band, and I thought I’d seen it all. I clearly had not. Almost all new blood in the band helped, as did the three gospel singers. Reviewed here.
April 4 Tindersticks at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. This band of old men do one thing, and they do it very, very well. Completely enchanting. Reviewed here.
25 SINGLES OF THE YEAR
In addition to the Jobi Riccio and Obongjayar off the top, here are other the other 23 tracks I loved outside my favourite albums, in alphabetical order. Sequenced playlists for paid subscribers follow the list:
Fiona Apple – “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home.” Missive from the incarceration nation.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “Downstream.” “It’s time to remember that we all live downstream.” Written as an eco-lament, it’s also a broad metaphor. And it’s not about trickle-down economics.
Bonnie Trash – “My Love Remains the Same (Kisses Goodbye).” Guelph goth girls go pop.
The Burning Hell – “Bottle of Chianti, Cheese, and a Charcuterie Board.” What more is there in life, really.
David Byrne with Hayley Williams – “What Is the Reason For It?” Outside the context of the live show, the new album didn’t really do it for me — except for this mariachi-tinged melody. (Great video, too.)
Daughter of Swords – “Talk to You.” By Alex Sauser-Monnig, a former member of Mountain Man, the vocal trio that once toured with Feist and featured Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso (who lends a hand here, as do other key North Carolinians). I can’t decide if she looks like Heino or David J in this video:
Kathleen Edwards – “Need a Ride.” Time to tune out social media and chillax — especially when you might need a lift from that problematic neighbour.
Freeways – “Can’t Deny Destiny.” Brampton comes alive! Yes, this is a new song and new video made in 2025, unironically.
Frog Eyes – “Put a Little Light on the Wretch That Is Me.” For the last 20+ years, I never thought of Frog Eyes as a pop band until this song.
Kevin Hearn – “Sea of Darkness.” Hearn’s rural Jamaican record is atmospheric and haunting, especially on this track featuring Sun Ra trumpeter Michael Ray.
Hidden Cameras – “You Can Call.” The boy of melody goes full Berlin.
Charlie Houston – “Lewps.” From my favourite local debut of the year. This not-great lyric video claims the singer wants to “TVO my days”?! I thought she said “Tivo,” but hey, shout out to the public broadcaster.
Lex Leosis – “Famous on the Weekend.” You can’t go wrong by listing the days of the week, especially when Monday morning is “fuck the man.” This should’ve been a K-OS-ish rap-rock-pop breakthrough for the Sorority rapper; it was certainly a highlight of her Hillside set.
My Morning Jacket – “Lemme Know.” You can’t hurry love with a plinky-plinky Ominchord, but this deep cut proved that this jam band can write an efficient pop bop. How was this not a single?!
Ribbon Skirt – “Wrong Planet.” This Montreal band made Exclaim!’s #1 record of the year and was shortlisted for Polaris. I wasn’t as excited, but Hole-y moly, there’s no denying the ’90s greatness of this single.
Sault – “P.” Landing the same month as Quincy Jones’s death, this British project’s latest album went right Off the Wall, especially on this track.
Shunk – “Rat King.” This Montreal band was my favourite new live act. Their debut EP captured that energy so well that this live radio performance sounds just like the record: they’ve got chops to burn. Operatic vocals summon ex-Montrealer Julia Gilmore of Condition, situated amidst art-school weirdness, insane hi-hat and a B-52 dance party. Love it.
Sloan – “Capitol Cooler.” This summer I saw Sloan live for the first time in… a decade? To prep, I built a playlist of their best songs from 2006–26 (for paid subscribers below), and this song was a surefire addition.
Snõõper – “Come Together.” These Nashville egg punks made easily one of the best Beatles covers I’ve ever heard in my life. And I’ve heard a few. Aretha, Stevie, now Snõõper.
Population II – “Mariano.” This Montreal prog band finally started to break through, probably in part because this song was so slinky.
Too Many Zooz – “Head Huncho.” There was a lot of brass music in my house this year, and this track is a major mood-lifter.
TuneYards – “Limelight.” A welcome return from a band I didn’t realize I missed so much. Family dance jam with liquid-liquid-y bass.
The Weather Station – “Neon Signs.” This one song distills all the best parts of the last three Weather Station records. Beautiful Toronto video, too, although uneasy, like a paranoid version of Global TV’s Night Walk of the ’80s.
Playlists for Tidal, Apple, Spotify and Qobuz are for paid subscribers below:
I’m a Tidal user but will be test-driving Qobuz over the holidays. I recommend Soundiiz for transferring playlists from anything to anywhere else. It’s free if you’re transferring fewer than 200 tracks; for $5 a month, you can transfer as much as you’d like, even your entire collection. (And if you don’t need it for more than a month, just cancel.)
A whiny old man note: Because I’m not a regular Apple Music user, everytime I cancel my subscription, Apple cancels my profile and saved playlists that I intend to share with you and with readers of my books.
On the other hand, Spotify — for all its evils — now allows me, a non-user, to not pay them any money at all, and leave my playlists there easily and indefinitely, as well as transfer new ones there.
All of which is to say: the playlists for The Never-Ending Present and Hearts on Fire are now back on Apple, and will be for the next three months.
Themed and chapter playlists, respectively, should be accessible by clicking on my public profile in Spotify, Apple and Tidal, accessible from any of the links below. For Qobuz, search for “Hearts on Fire chapter” and “Never-Ending Present” in playlists.
Here are this year’s playlists! They’re sequenced like the kind of radio show I used to love doing every week. Save, shuffle, share, cherry-pick for your own playlists, whatever. Enjoy!
Singles: 25 tracks
Albums: 45 tracks
Sloan: Well-Placed Trust 2006–26
The hits comp A-Sides Win, full of radio hits, came out in 2005. To celebrate the band’s 14th album, here’s my suggested follow-up comp, 30 cuts deep, for misguided fairweather fans who think this band never matched their early radio hits.
Bonus gift!
I made a 50-track playlist of my favourite Stevie Wonder tracks to celebrate his 75th birthday this year.
Extra bonus gift!
Rush is back and touring next year. Here’s my 50-track playlist to get you “In the Mood.” (It does not feature “In the Mood,” coz I’m not a total hoser. Take off, eh!)
Okay, wait, I'm very confused. Are you just saying the vocals remind you of Julia Gilmore from Condition, or that (somehow, 40 years on!) they're influenced by her? At first it sounded to me like you meant she's in the band, which she isn't. (I'm pretty sure this is her: https://www.juliagilmore.com/about)
Cheers! Great stuff! Can't wait to see Byrne in Vancouver next spring. Great Sloan and Stevie playlists, too!