Each week throughout the year, we select one new outstanding album to feature across our platforms as a way of celebrating music that is authentic, original and pure. In 2025, we featured dozens of exceptional albums across a variety of genres that tap into various musical traditions from different corners of the world. Every one of these albums tells a profound story in its own voice, speaking directly to the soul of those willing to listen.
We are eternally thankful to our listeners. They listen, and the way they listen to these albums tells a great story of its own. Ten impactful albums are worth singling out here because of how strongly they resonated with our listeners and announcers alike.
Each of the artists below dug deeply into their wellspring of creativity, making their way to a place of genuine introspection, in order to sing from their inner and true voice. And it's not like we haven't come across these artists before. In fact, we've travelled along with them on their respective journeys of discovery. But it feels like the works they've created here are exactly where they can show us who they really are. These albums are mystical, and their themes can feel disquieting at times. In their fusion of ancestral wisdom with the concerns of modern living, they invite us to think about longing and belonging, to look for our place in the world, and to find our inner voice.
As we wrap up for the year, we invite you to revisit these wonderful albums that spoke to us so powerfully.
The Cloud Maker - 'The Cloud Maker'
Marlon Williams - 'Te Whare Tiwekaweka'
Now Always Fades - 'Into The Doldrums'
CLAMM - 'Serious Acts'
Folk Bitch Trio - 'Now Would Be A Good Time'
Crown and Country
Bleak Squad - 'Strange Love'
Bumpy - 'Kanana'
Georgia Knight - 'Beanpole'
Birdsnake - 'Biofilter'
