If you do not know what Indie rock means in 2025, then why did you click on this article in the first place? The bands that made the top ten list are of the more experimental variety, many times bordering on post-punk, but not as fully immersed in the bleakness, though more albums lean into a darker mood than not here, though given the website you are reading this on, that should not be a surprise. While indie rock lends itself to hipster culture, these are not intended to be the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,
After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2025. The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album; there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day, what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, and you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway, here are the top 10 indie rock albums of 2025
10-SWOLL- "Avoid Attach"
This Baltimore-based band has an interesting atmosphere setting them apart from their peers. They mix post-hardcore with an ambient form of indie that dabbles in electronics like Minus the Bear. There is less math rock going on than minus the bear, with the bass players keeping a creeping tension flowing through the songs. The vocals are shouted in a more punk fashion, but the aggression is more passive than overt. Sometimes they are more dynamic and sung in a way that would not be out of place on a shoegaze album.
tps://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/swoll-avoid-attach.html
9-Activity-"A Thousand Years in Another Way."
This one starts off with a tenser, more brooding vibe. The fragile vocals still bring Radiohead to mind. They employ swathes of sonic noise to create the atmosphere here. At times, they feature female vocals in an almost whimsical manner. They also veer into the experimental post- "Ok Computer" era of Radiohead. Their sounds are well-layered, but the beat brings this comparison further to mind.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/activity-thousand-years-in-another-way.html
8-Cult Therapy -"Get Fucked Sinner."
These zany Michigan punks, have made a scathing album that gives religion the middle finger. There are elements of slacker '90s indie rock in the disjointed slink it takes on at times. There is also a noise rock sloppiness to what is going on here.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/12/cult-therapy-get-fucked-sinner.html
7-Smoking Popes - "Lovely Stuff."
I first gave this band a shot because Morrissey said Smoking Popes was one of his favorite bands. Given the vocal quality of their singing and lyrical depth, I bought their 1995 album 'Born to Quit', for which they are most known. This album is not produced in a manner that suggests they are trying to take you back to the 90s, but the guitar does have a punk jangle to it. What do accomplish is showing their songwriting chops are still tight as hell.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/smoking-popes-lovely-stuff.html
6-The Bellair Lip Bombs -"Again"
This band from Austrailia has flown under the radar for 8 years, and it is now time for them to step into the spotlight. Their new album finds early college rock colliding with the slacker sounds of the '90s. Singer Maisie Everett adds a detached layer of cool girl indifference to the sonic ramble of their sometimes Velvet Underground-like sonic attack. The overall sound is a more historically accurate depiction of where post-punk originated before evolving into what we know as indie rock
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-bellair-lip-bombs-again.html
5-Reverse YR Curse : " Where Are We Going and When Will We Get There?"
This trio plays an interesting flavor of indie rock. They are introspective and melodic while their songwriting churns through odd yet organic shifts. There is more surf rock than punk feel to this weird take on pop if we are talking about pop from the '60s Phil Spector era. There is a garage vibe to the guitars at times as the lyrics are as oddly phrased as the music jangling around it.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/reverse-yr-curse-where-are-we-going-and.html
4-The Neighbourhood -" Ultrasound"
I loved "Wiped Out" but this is the first album to I have listened to by this California band. I am not sure when they decided to stop making emo pop and took this turn to the zip code of the Stone Roses, but I approve, it is not what I expected at all.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-neighborhood-ultrasound.html
3-SMUT - "Tomorrow Comes Crashing"
This Cincinnati-sourced band plays a raw punk-influenced take on indie rock that pulls from the more emotional side of 90s alternative rock. Tay Roebuck has both sugar and spice to her voice, with a syrupy knack for melodies that spill over the attack of the well-layered and intentionally lo-fi guitars. It's an overproduced album that makes it seem like it's just a mic in the practice room, with guitar running through all kinds of plug-ins, to achieve a wide breadth of tones.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/smut-tomorrow-comes-crashing.html
2- Pool Kids- "Easier Said Than Done"
It is funny that I found this band while searching for punk albums that came out this year. There is nothing punk about this but I like this album for what it is. This Tallahassee plays a pop minded version of indie-rock that benefits from some very slick production that lends to the pristine vocal lines and dancey grooves. It feels like if you were hoping the Beaches had made more of a pop album this time around then these kids would be for you. They take a page from Boygenius when it comes to blending hooks with indie rock.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/12/pool-kids-easier-said-than-done.html
1-HAIM- "I quit"
The Haim sisters came back after five years, which in pop music is an eternity, given how attention spans and trends cycle out. In being generous and taking things like touring into consideration, we can say they had 3 years to follow "Women in Music pt 3" which was a career-defining album, that elevated the band's status. This time the focus was on playing their instruments and busting out guitar solos rather than pop hooks, but they packed a few of those as well.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/haim-i-quit.html
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