New Wax Wednesday

Welcome to Part 2 of our annual, year-end Best LPs extravaganza! As I noted at the outset of Part 1 yesterday, December 23, 2025, it’s never been easy paring down our favorite LPs to the final selections for these best-of listings, but we do feel we’ve done our measured best after sifting through the multiple hundreds of LPs we spun throughout the course of 2025 in order to represent the top-tier of what we’ve heard on vinyl this year. In the aforementioned Part 1 — which you can check out here — we covered our Top 10 favorite archival/reissues LPs. And by “we,” I mean a) me, Mike Mettler, your ever-faithful AP editor, and b) our chief LP reviewer, Mark Smotroff. And now, here in Part 2, we’re analyzing our Top 10 new LPs of the year.

Note that the majority of (though not all) the new-to-2025 albums being discussed here were reviewed on AP proper over the course of this past year, and those reviews can be found via the Album Reviews, Features, New Wax Wednesday, Short Cuts, and Vinyl Reports pull-down headers that appear underneath the main Music menu header, or you can also get to them via typing the artist/album names into our search bar, and/or clicking on the provided links that appear throughout this story. And with that. . .

MIKE METTLER’S TOP 5 NEW LPs OF 2025
First up are my Top 5 wax newbies of the year, presented, as always, in reverse order. Do any of my choices below crossover with your own favorite new-to-2025 LPs? The envelope, please. . .

5. VERNON REID
HOODOO TELEMETRY
1LP (Artone/The Players Club)
Once and forever groundbreaking Living Colour lead guitarist Vernon Reid steps out for another gripping solo turn with Hoodoo Telemetry — and it’s pressed on purple vinyl, no less. “Why did I go with purple?” Reid mused rhetorically to me over Zoom recently. “Well, I’m still a Prince fan — what can I tell you?” he then added with a hearty laugh, before reflecting about the playback medium we all love so dearly. “I think it’s great that vinyl still has a place,” Reid continued. “If you want to listen to music and have it be an intimate experience where you have to interact with the physical object, the fact that it still exists is incredible.” (Testify! Our full conversation will soon appear in my regular “Sound Chaser” column over on our sister site, Stereophile, so stay tuned!)

Reid has never much been one for labels and trends — hence, the trajectory of Hoodoo essentially demands the instant abandonment of genre conception. From the skittery, Zappaesque mirrored verse/riff tension of “Freedom Jazz Dance” (Side A, Track 2) to the poignant, gnarly, in-the-moment sneer-stab at Cream’s “Politician” (Side B, Track 1) to the rhetorical push-pull of the ostensibly sunny “Beautiful Bastard” (Side B, Track 3), this LP won’t rest until it takes you through all its paces — and then back again. There’s no question Reid practices what he preaches — he’s got the rotating character of his special brand of Hoodoo down cold — so go here to get yourself under this purple-hued LP’s seductive vinyl spell.

4. MURRAY ATTAWAY
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS. . .]
1LP (Moonray)
It only took him, what, 32 years since he dropped his underrated 1993 solo debut In Thrall on DGC, but expat Guadalcanal Diary lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Murray Attaway sure delivered in spades — or rather, make that delivered in stereo — with his most excellent next-century followup, [tense music plays. . .]. Presented via his own Moonray label on limited-edition color vinyl, [tense] is an exhilarating, endlessly enjoyable listen from the initial needle drop to the final needle lift — and it provides even more aural goodness upon repeat listens. “It almost takes my breath away,” Attaway sings on Side 1’s lead track, “Breath,” exhibiting a long-learned level of control and emotion in the deliberately extended vowels in its recurring refrain. The interplay between his naked lead vocal, acoustic guitar, and Ana Balka’s violin on the ensuing track, “Stars Behind the Moon,” is also breathtaking in its own right — as is the payoff looooong-vowel extension in the back half of “Hole in the Ground,” the track that follows it.

And don’t get me started on the snarling, sultry groove drama comprising “Old Christmas” (Side 2, Track 2) — or maybe do. “The songs tell you how they should sound,” Attaway told me on Zoom earlier this year (another interview that will later post here on AP in much more depth). “I hope the LP sounds honest and genuine — not manufactured,” he continued. “I’m aware that my vocals aren’t perfectly on pitch and all that, but I was okay with it because I thought, ‘Well, this is what I sound like right now’ — and that’s honest.” To modify an old Guadalcanal Diary line, honest is as honest does, so I suggest you go directly to Attaway’s Bandcamp page here to get your own copy of this stellar LP right now, in the present tense. (My copy is on orange-crush vinyl, but clear vinyl is what’s currently available.)

3. BEAT
BEAT LIVE
180g 3LP (InsideOut Music/Sony)
Onetime King Crimson compatriots guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew and bassist Tony Levin had an itch to scratch, so they went out and recruited guitar god Steve Vai and muscular drumming marvel Danny Carey to see if they could bring prime 1980s Crimson material back to life in the modern day — and thus, with head Crim Robert Fripp’s blessing, BEAT was born. (I spoke with both Belew and Levin about all things BEAT here in my recent, third “Sound Chaser” column over on our sister site, Stereophile, on November 3, 2025.) The chops-for-days quartet played 65 shows in North America throughout 2024 (followed by briefer runs in Mexico and South America in early 2025), and they captured one of the tour’s best outings at The United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles on November 14, 2024, for the 3LP black vinyl edition of (all caps required, please) BEAT LIVE. Me, I saw BEAT a few weeks after that L.A. gig in Buffalo on December 2, 2024, and I can confirm firsthand just how bleepin’ accomplished they are.

On BEAT LIVE, the fearsome foursome uplifted complex KC material like the polymetric street dustup of “Thela Hun Ginjeet” (LP3, Side Two, Track 2), the electronic drum showcase “Larks Tongues in Aspic, Part III” (LP2, Side One, Track 1), the slide balladry of “Matte Kudasai” (LP3, Side One, Track 2), and the expressive art narrative of “Indiscipline” (LP3, Side Two, Track 1; “I like it!”) — not to mention ’80s KC songs never before played live like the metallic robotics of “Dig Me” (LP1, Side Two, Track 2) and pleading tones of “Model Man” (LP1, Side Two, Track 1) — with aplomb and panache. The band recently confirmed they’ll be returning to the road next summer (albeit Euro-centric dates only, at least for now), but in the meantime, BEAT LIVE deserves your rapt repeat-spinning attention. Go here to get your copy, as all six sides of it really can’t be (wait for it) BEAT.

2. ENVY OF NONE
STIJ(Ē)ƏN WĀVS
1LP (Kscope)
Three color vinyl options for Envy of None’s scintillating, half-speed-mastered sophomore LP, Stij(ē)ən Wāvs — pink, blue, and purple — await beyond the standard black option, but anyone expecting Rush Mach 2 with guitar guru Alex Lifeson recurring in the EON fold will not find it here. Those with open ears and open minds, however, will be more than well-rewarded. Following the adventurous sonic template EON forged on their self-titled April 2022 Kscope debut, Stij(ē)ən Wāvs (you’ll also see that title presented elsewhere as the more phonetically decipherable Stygian Wavz) ups the ante by putting their own spin on inventive production soundscapes that would make Butch Vig and Garbage proud, along with deeply affecting ethereal vocals a la Lush, courtesy vocalist Maiah Wynne.

“Very early on, I try to get a sense of what the best sequencing is,” Lifeson explained to me via Zoom for a story that posted here on March 29, 2025. “I tried different combinations, and got the sequence that I thought was the best sequence,” he continued. “Again, you’re thinking about dynamics, songs that are rockier than others, or if I have two funky songs in a row. I tried to put together a list that really was well-balanced — and everybody else was happy with that list.” That includes me — from the middle Eastern underpinnings of “Under the Stars” (Side A, Track 3) to the relentless ebb and flow of “Raindrops” (Side B, Track 2) to the otherworldly nether-reaches of the title track (Side B, Track 6), Wāvs crests anew in its own cosmic wake. The pink and blue vinyl may currently be sold out, but you can go here to choose between purple or black wax — or just get ’em both. (Naturally, I have all four variants.)

1. STEVEN WILSON
THE OVERVIEW
180g 1LP (Fiction)
Say what you will, but Steven Wilson never plans on doing anything the same way twice — and certainly never twice in a row. “In my studio, I have this whiteboard, and I write down all the things that I need to get to doing,” he explained to me over Zoom in 2023 while we were talking about his seemingly always full schedule. “They’re all on there. The problem is, stuff’s coming in faster than I can get through, which is a great problem to have.” Besides the cavalcade of multichannel and stereo remixes he’s forever tasked with doing, Wilson never has a problem coming up with his own new material — and for his latest, and eighth, solo LP The Overview, he went all-in on the one-song-per-side concept, in turn delivering a post-prog masterstroke. “Objects Will Outlive Us” (which runs 23:17) encapsulates the entirety of Side A, and the title track, “The Overview” (which clocks in at 18:21), owns Side B — and they are both absolutely beyond-the-cosmic pale. As I noted in my format-combo review that posted here on our outgoing sister site Sound & Vision on March 23, 2025, Wilson explained that the album’s concept is based on what’s known as “The Overview Effect” phenomenon, something astronauts experience upon going into space and looking back at the Earth. Many astronauts have since reported experiencing a “very profound cognitive shift” and then say they’ve come to understand “just how small, fragile, and beautiful the Earth is in relation to the cosmos, and therefore, by extension, just how small and insignificant the human species is.”

Each Overview track reflects those spatially heady concepts, and they are also partitioned into multiple sections so you can pick your interstellar poison each time through, so to speak. In “The Buddha of the Modern Age” — section two of “Objects” on Side A — Wilson (seen below, in fine planetary balance) takes a deliberately staccato approach to how he sings each compound syllable, each line getting additional vocal layers as this section continues. “Permanence” — the sixth and final section of the title track on Side B — is an instrumental duet between Wilson on keyboards and celesta (a struck idiophone with a keyboard that gives off bell-like sound) and Theo Travis on soprano sax, and their respective bleats, chords, and wails go all aswirl for the last 3-4 minutes; celestial seasoning, if ever there was. Besides deep black half-speed-mastered 180g wax, The Overview also appears on limited-edition red and mint green color vinyl. I have all three options, but the latter two are a bit hard to find at the moment. Even so, given how The Overview is presented and arranged, you’re likely to find something new to focus your ears and mind on, upon each successive listen on vinyl — something I’d be happy to do again and again for the next billion years or so myself.

And now, it’s time to turn the new-vinyl assessment wand over to Mark, who will reveal forthwith the listings for and related descriptions of his five favorite new LPs of the year. Take it away, brotha Mark!

MARK SMOTROFF’S TOP NEW LPs OF 2025
Thanks again, Mike! Perhaps more than ever, music has proven to be an enormous factor in helping me stay grounded throughout this turbulent year of 2025. Here is a rundown of my Top 5 new releases in no particular order, but all of which helped soothe my soul.

CHARLES MINGUS
IN ARGENTINA: THE BUENOS AIRES CONCERTS
180g 3LP (Resonance)
The 3LP set In Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts helps to fill important gaps in Charles Mingus’ official release catalog, showcasing his little documented touring band of that late period of 1977, just two years before he passed away. One of the finer-sounding concert documents — especially for an archival live recording that was not originally intended for commercial release — this collection features many great performances, including a roaring early version of “Cumbia & Jazz Fusion” (LP2, Side D, Track 1; it would later be released on a 1978 LP of the same name). According to the liner notes, Mingus’ bass was amplified for these concerts, so there is a surprisingly punchy clarity to his driving rhythmic pulse that comes across so wonderfully. You can read my full review of this multidisc set in the Record Store Day-oriented Short Cuts entry that posted here on April 8, 2025 — and then you can go get your own copy of it here.

ELTON JOHN & BRANDI CARLILE
WHO BELIEVES IN ANGELS?
1LP (Rocket/EMI)
Collaborative albums are often a hit-or-miss scenario when it comes to consistency, but superstars Elton John and Brandi Carlile struck an incredible balance on Who Believes in Angels?, which I initially reviewed here on April 25, 2025. Angels feels musically timeless, and just right from start to finish. As a lifetime Elton John fan, I was pleased, because Angels feels in many ways like a classic-era 1970s Elton record — but I can also certainly feel the presence of Carlile’s work, which brings it into the 21st century. I suspect her fans likely feel it also sounds like one of her classic albums — and that is a good thing indeed, as it underscores the integrity of both artists who brought their respective A-games to the table. Yes, there are many color variants of this album available — I’ve yet to find a standard black copy! — but it’s worth getting in any vinyl fashion because the music is that good, and fun.

FRANK ZAPPA
FRANK ZAPPA’S CHEAPER THAN CHEEP
180g 3LP (Zappa/UMe)
As a lifelong Zappa fan, I found the live-in-the-rehearsal-studio, unaired 1974 TV show soundtrack Cheaper Than Cheep 3LP set to be a truly wonderful, metamorphosis-in-real-time aural document. Showcasing the transformation of Zappa’s iconic (and so-called) Roxy-era band into an incredibly tighter, smaller, and ever-more-mobile touring unit, here we get to aurally witness Zappa’s realignment of this group into a super-powered music machine. I especially liked how they perform Zappa’s compositions from a number of his most influential and popular albums of the mid-’70s — as well as much unreleased material — at a remarkably ultra-steady pace, more akin to actual studio recordings than a staged concert. In our review of it that posted here on June 27, 2025, we gave the album — which is spread out over three dark, well-centered, and quiet LPs — a 10 for Music, and 9 for Sound. In short, Cheep is an overall fine new release.

GUIDED BY VOICES
THICK RICH AND DELICIOUS
1LP (GBV Inc.)
Guided By Voices’ latest LP, Thick Rich and Delicious, is a hard-rocking, power-popping gem that was released back on October 31, and it made 2025 that much brighter for this writer — and hopefully for all the band’s dedicated fans as well! Capturing the energy of the current core GBV band live in the studio with minimal overdubs, Thick celebrates founder, lead singer, and primary songwriter Robert Pollard’s prodigious gifts for delivering earworm after earworm across some of his strongest vocals in years. “(You Can’t Go Back To) Oxford Talawanda” (Side One, Track 2) cross-pollinates mid-1960s The Who Sell Out-era Who with late-1980s R.E.M. to great effect, while “Lucy’s World” (Side One, Track 4) showcases lead guitarist Doug Gillard’s scorching fretwork. Thick Rich and Delicious indeed lives up to the promise of its title.

JULIAN SHORE TRIO
SUB ROSA
1LP (Chill Tone)
One of my biggest surprises was falling in love with a modern jazz release by a newer artist this year. Released on the independent label Chill Tone, Julian Shore Trio’s gorgeous Sub Rosa LP delivers the hushed vibe of late-1950s jazz (think Miles Davis, Bill Evans, et al) — but with a 21st century twist. There are many wonderful moments here wherein Shore and his band channel the sort of telepathy Evans and his trio pioneered in the mid-20th century. I was fortunate to see the trio on tour supporting this album, and I can attest that they are the real deal, delivering the goods live without a net. You can order the fine-sounding, well-centered, and quiet Sub Rosa LP direct from Shore’s Bandcamp page here, either signed or unsigned.

For Part 1 of our Best LPs of 2025 feature, which focuses on our 10 favorite archival/reissue LPs of the year, go here.

Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for eCoustics, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.