It is my considered opinion that one of the dumbest song lyrics of all time comes from the Beach Boys’ “Little Saint Nick,” where they declare, “Christmas comes this time each year.” Yes, it’s true, Dec. 25 does come every year right around, um, Dec. 25. Thanks for the reminder?

You know what else comes this time each year? Best-of lists. I listened to a lot of music in 2025, from bands in Western Mass. and Connecticut, and from places further afield. In looking at my favorite albums, I’m noticing a maximalist theme. Not in the music itself, necessarily, but many of the artists on my list went big with albums that made a statement in some way — one that resonated with me, at least. Here are my picks. Let me know yours in the comments!

Gold Dust, In the Shade of the Living Light: A meditation on impermanence, “Gold Dust’s third album is at once robust and achingly fragile on eight songs at the intersection of psychedelia, ‘70s-style English folk-rock and a DIY punk sensibility,” I wrote in a blurb for the Boston Globe’s best-albums list. (I also wrote about Gold Dust in Freak Scene #66.) In the Shade of the Living Light is the first Gold Dust album that Easthampton’s Stephen Pierce has made with a full band, rather than on his own, and his collaborators helped expand his musical vision as he “fought through an undertow of precarious mental health to emerge reborn and triumphant.”

Gold DustIn the Shade of the Living Light

Rosalía, LUX: “Rosalía’s fourth album demonstrates the sheer breadth of her creativity as she blends high culture with the streets on songs spanning pop, hip-hop, classical (that’s the London Symphony Orchestra accompanying her) and flamenco,” I wrote for the Globe. “She sings in 14 languages in a voice by turns thunderously operatic and sweetly restrained,” and though she has said the lyrics only contain “little pieces” of her, there’s no one else who could have pulled off a project this wide-ranging and ambitious. There’s been debate about whether LUX is classical or pop, but such distinctions hardly apply to Rosalía, an artist so willing to explore — and so confident about it — that she has practically become a genre unto herself.

Hallelujah the Hills, DECK: “The Boston band’s most daring and imaginative undertaking yet,” I wrote in this story for the Globe. Hallelujah the Hills’ latest is a 54-track quadruple album arranged like a deck of cards, with four “suits” of 13 songs each, plus two instrumental tracks as jokers. It’s a lot to listen to all the way through in one sitting, but dipping in piecemeal, or latching on when a track comes up at random, is unfailingly rewarding. There are catchy pop melodies here, rootsy rockers and some weird stuff, too, but DECK overflows with a generosity of spirit throughout.

Hallelujah The HillsDECK: HEARTS

Brian Dunne, Clams Casino: The songs on Dunne’s fourth album are about people trying to reconcile their youthful dreams with present circumstances, and finding they often don’t match. Though there’s a sense of disillusionment at the center of these 10 songs, they’re smart, catchy and frequently wry. “With such a vivid blend of empathy, soul and wit, Clams Casino showcases Brian Dunne’s best songwriting so far,” I wrote in this review for Paste. He also talked about Clams Casino in Freak Scene #88.

Brian DunneClams Casino

Casey Dienel, My Heart Is an Outlaw: Dienel, who formerly performed as White Hinterland, had quit music before the pandemic drew the Scituate native back to the piano. Dienel’s “first album in eight years explores love in unconventional configurations, reflecting Dienel’s own identity as a non-binary artist,” I wrote for the Globe . “My Heart Is an Outlaw is a reminder of their versatility as a performer and writer on torch-y piano ballads, taut indie-rock numbers and bold, cinematic pop tunes.” (I also wrote about Dienel here.)

Casey DienelMy Heart Is An Outlaw

Raeann Fetcho, Saint Kitschy: This one took me by surprise. I came across Fetcho by chance on Bandcamp, and the Enfield singer had me hooked five seconds into the droll, deadpan indie-pop album opener “Girl of the Year.” In Freak Scene #81, I described her as “a songwriter who has a startling facility with words, and a deep pocket full of melodies that she pairs them with.”

Raeann FetchoSaint Kitschy

Bad Bunny, Debí Tirar Más Fotos: Reggaetón generally isn’t my thing, but Bad Bunny’s latest is so much more as he threads a musical history of Puerto Rico through songs laced with elements of salsa, bomba, jíbaro, perreo and plena. Lyrically, Benito Martínez mixes personal themes — heartbreak, seduction — with reflections on the island’s political climate and culture, and how they interact with the world at large. In many ways, music is the message on Debí Tirar Más Fotos (Spanish for “I should have taken more photos”), and both are powerful.

Ciarra Fragale, Get What You Want: Fragale’s fourth album features 10 songs built around analog synthesizers and effects-treated guitars that very much evoke an ’80s vibe “somewhere between the Flashdance soundtrack and Tears for Fears at their height,” I wrote in Freak Scene #67. Though it’s impressive enough that the North Adams singer studied up on how to get just the sound she wanted, her voice is a definite draw here, too: Fragale is a first-rate singer who can sing with power or dial it back to sultry and subdued.

Ciarra FragaleGet What You Want

Lisa O’Neill, “The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right”: The title track from an EP O’Neill released in November, “The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right” is a shattering protest song. The Irish singer starting writing the tune in 2017, and she sounds weary and heartbroken eight years later. The deceptively spare musical arrangement includes guitars, bass, piano and harmonium, but O’Neill’s craggy voice is the focal point, and when she sings the refrain on the coda it’s like a rockslide tumbling into the sea.

That’s a wrap on 2025! Thank you so much for reading Freak Scene over the past year. If you like what you’ve been seeing here, please spread the word. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe!

As we head into 2026, Freak Scene is always seeking submissions. You can send music for coverage consideration to erdanton at gmail or reply to this email. Check out these guidelines first.

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