It's that time of year again. It may seem early to begin sorting through the year's best post-punk albums, but record labels have already sent me most of what this year has to offer. After sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. In 2025, it was marginally better than the previous year, though given the current climate of the world, we are progressing on a downward spiral, making dark music more important as a soundtrack for this. As far as 2025goes for post-punk, there were strong albums, especially those in the top 5, though the influx of new material from the genre is beginning to slow. 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. You might find your next favorite album on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these albums. Anyway, here are the top 10 post-punk albums of 2025.
The post-punkers from Chicago are leaning into the darker times of today, which thankfully bring with them more shadow and tension this time around.. The guitar rings out with a trembling melody, setting the stage for the brooding monotone of the vocals. Less punk and more thoughtful than Joy Division. In the collision of noise and atmosphere, you can hear how this was one of the albums Steve Albini worked on.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/gothtober-facs-wish-defense.html
9-Lathe of Heaven- "Aurora"
This Brooklyn-based second album is rather unique in the sounds it combines, as it balances an airy, ringing, atmospheric guitar tone with driving post-punk drumming, and an emotive new wave croon flows over it. They are not one-trick ponies, as they sometimes find a Smiths-like flow to it. The touch on what Vision Video once did in their more inspired earlier work, and give it a more poetic grace.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/gothtober-lathe-of-heaven-aurora.html
8-Isolated Youth - "Miserere Mei"
Stumbled across this band from Sweden, who offer an interesting take on the darker side of 90s alternative rock. There is some post-punk influence, but bands like Ours and Placebo seem just as crucial to these guys' DNA. The vocals go down a more sullen self-loathing, but still in the warbling tenor that introduced their sound from the start.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/isolated-youth-miserere-mei.html
7-Nyx Division -"Midnight Lights"
I really liked their 2022 album "Dark Star," is made the year's Top 10 Post-punk albums, and this one is heading in the right direction as they grow as a band, allowing room for the atmosphere to set the mood. This album stands shoulder to shoulder with their last in terms of songwriting quality, though this one has more fiery energy to it.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/nyx-division-midnight-lights.html
6-Bambara-"Birthmarks"
In the past five years, Bambara have improved a great deal since I last listened to them. They have leaned into their darker side, and their singer is more comfortable in his own skin. If this were the '90s, this album would be a huge hit.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/gothtober-bambara-birthmarks.html
5-Spiritual Cramp-"Rude"
This album is lyrically catchy, with enough of a punk attitude to keep it legit, though it is hooky as hell. They are as playful as Vigara Boys, but with a more new wave-like sheen to the melodies. It might not be as explosive as their last album, but the songwriting has matured.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/spiritual-cramp-rude.html
Here's another band to file under the...there is some really weird post-punk adjacent music coming out lately. The delicate, anxious nature of Dylan Von Wagner's vocals. The songwriting does not hold the typical tension of post-punk, blending elements of indie rock into the more expansive sound created here. it's a pretty interesting and impactful listen, very honest in its aspirations and fueled by an original sonic vision.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/imaginary-people-alibi.html
3-Crippling Alcoholism-"Camgirl"
I became obsessed with this band's album 'With Love From a Padded Room" to the point that it not only was the number one post-punk album of 2024, but also took fourth place in the overall best of list, behind my favorite artists the Cure, Glassing, and Taylor Swift, putting them in the top tier of songwriters. This means expectations are high. Rather than conform to expectations on their new album, the band has taken a left turn. It still sounds like them, but rather than the smoky blues noir that set the tone of the last album, there are more synths at the forefront. This is not blindsiding you as they did similar on songs like "Lipstick With No Lips" on the last album; it just takes things a step further in that direction.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/crippling-alcoholism-camgirl.html
2-the Discussion-"All the Pretty Flowers"
This band is Laura from Kylesa making a post-punk album. It is very moody with a hazy atmosphere over the tense bass lines that prowl the shadowy landscapes she has created here. It's great songwriting and covers a wide breadth of the shadows.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-discussion-all-pretty-flowers.html
1-Scorpion Milk- "Slime of the Times
Mat Mcnerney from Beastmilk is taking things in a more apocalyptic direction with this album. Joining him is the drummer from the Viagra Boys and Nate Newton from Converge on bass. The elements that differed from what I expected, due to the rough punk edges, grew on me, and it became an album I could just keep playing all afternoon.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/scorpion-milk-slime-of-times.html
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