November Recap
The 30 New (To Me) Albums I Listened To In November and Which Ones Stuck Out!
I’m not sure if this month was just me subconsciously playing catch up as 2025 comes to a close or what, but all five of my favorite albums of this month’s listening were new releases this year. I listened to a ton of recommendations this month, so that could have something to do with it as well, but in any case, over half of the albums I listened to this month were released in 2025, so my year-end recap is definitely going to be difficult to narrow down—and that’s not even counting any new releases in December.
If you wanna follow along, below is the playlist of my favorite song off of each new album I listened to in the order that I listened to them.
*Slight disclaimer: January’s albums did not follow the brand new criteria so some of the first ~30 songs on this playlist weren’t new to me
Here are the 30 albums I listened to in November, with the ones that stuck out in bold, and a little review of my top five at the end.
November 1st - Carpe Diem, Moonman by The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
November 2nd - Oolooloo by The Pietasters
November 3rd - The Sunset Tree by The Mountain Goats
November 4th - Lifetime by Erika de Casier
November 5th - Hot Buttered Soul by Isaac Hayes
November 6th - Flowering Jungle by Monster Rally
November 7th - morning music (vol. 1) by mmmicah
November 8th - No Hard Feelings by The Beaches
November 9th - Very Necessary by Salt-N-Pepa
November 10th - Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
November 11th - Cross by Justice
November 12th - A Trip To The Moon by Ghost Funk Orchestra
November 13th - Natural Pleasure by BRONCHO
November 14th - Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs by Marty Robbins
November 15th - Chasing The Chimera by Del Water Gap
November 16th - Gold Star Baby by The Aces
November 17th - LUX by ROSALÍA
November 18th - Contact by Sub Focus
November 19th - Berry Is On Top by Chuck Berry
November 20th - Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls by chokecherry
November 21st - Visions by Grimes
November 22nd - KARMA by Stray Kids
November 23rd - Farmhouse by Phish
November 24th - MUTT by Leon Thomas
November 25th - Anything Can Be a Hammer by bloodsports
November 26th - PRESSURE by Julia Wolf
November 27th - I Will Not Let My Love Go To Waste by Yoshi Flower
November 28th - Belong by Jay Som
November 29th - Panorama by Hélène Barbier
November 30th - Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest
5. Carpe Diem, Moonman by The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are a band who have been on my radar for probably a few years by now; their two albums High Visceral, Pt. 1 and High Visceral, Pt. 2 have been sitting comfortably in my library for awhile. Last month, their new album Pogo Rodeo came up as a new release recommendation on Spotify, and from the first song, that one became indisputably my number one album of October. I was so enamored with that album, that the next day, I chose to listen to their other new release of 2025, Carpe Diem, Moonman, released just five months prior. And, of course, I loved it. These two albums combined drove me to reach out to the band’s management and try to knock out a plan for interview coverage at Screen Rant. That piece is still in the works, so stay tuned, but I went to see them play at Thalia Hall in Chicago,1 and man was that a show I will never forget.
I went with one of my best friends from high school, and after smoking the obligatory concert J, we went in, grabbed some drinks, and set up shop a thin two rows of people behind the mosh pit. I haven’t been to a GA show at a venue that holds upwards of 500 in quite some time, and I haven’t been to one that prompts a mosh pit in probably triple that time. Throughout the whole show, this mosh pit was fucking legit, but it was “March on for Pax Ramona” that had the whole crowd going absolutely buck wild, and it did not settle down in the least when they followed it up with “Another Reincarnation,” not to mention the momentum had already started building with “Weird World Awoke,” which they played just before “Pax Ramona.” The setlist was pretty heavily saturated with this album, just as much as it was with Pogo Rodeo, and truth be told, I think had I listened to Carpe Diem, Moonman first, I think it could just as easily have been the album to have an impact and make me a fan. “Concrete & Cola” is easily in my top five songs I’ve discovered from this whole one new album a day thing I’ve been doing. These guys are so awesome.
4. Chasing The Chimera by Del Water Gap
Part of me wishes I never listened to this album, because I had the chance to see Del Water Gap when they played All Things Go in 2024 but I couldn’t get out to Queens soon enough for the start of their set. I also missed Soccer Mommy, who ended up being my number one artist that year, so needless to say I messed up by not busting my ass and opting for an uber out to Forest Hills rather than riding the F for practically its entire route, but I digress. Of course, minus that tiny part of me that borderline regrets it, I am so happy that I came across this album, also via Spotify recommendation.2 I really didn’t know much about Del Water Gap prior to this album, and by that I mean I really didn’t know a damn thing about Del Water Gap prior to this album. I went in totally blind, expecting some pop influence, but with exactly zero expectations beyond that.
Firstly, I was very pleasantly surprised by the banjo in “Small Town Joan of Arc.” From there, and not at all to discount the opener, “Marigolds,” I fell in love with this album. Chasing the Chimera boasts a certain nostalgia that can usually only be tapped into by music that was around during the time for which the nostalgia stems. At the same time, this album evokes a sort of futuristic feel. I don’t know if it’s the production, the unique instruments like sax—“New Personality” features a KILLER solo—or banjo, or S. Holden Jaffe’s dreamlike vocals, but this album feels like every moment in time synthesized together into one singular moment. A moment that lasts for 12 songs and 40 minutes, but a moment just the same. I struggled to come up with a favorite of those 12 songs, partly because of their collective cohesion, but also because all 12 are just so damn good.
3. Natural Pleasure by BRONCHO
I love Substack because I love being able to read music reviews and recommendations from such a wide variety of different writers and music fans. Unfortunately, that means I often forget who’s who and who’s writing what. I learned about Natural Pleasure from a Substack post, but I can’t for the life of me remember whose recommendation it was. I then passed it off as my own recommendation to another writer and music fan who was asking for recommendations, so I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for not giving the recommendation its proper due to the unknown writer who showed it to me first. That said, this is an album I will continue to recommend, probably for years to come. It’s probably the album that I listened to the most this month after being introduced to it, and it has grown on me more and more with each listen. Plus, it has a fantastic album cover, that goes perfectly with its name; what natural pleasure is better than a fuzzy lil bee pollinating a flower? Nothing, that’s what.
Of course, the music itself pairs just as nicely with the album’s cover and title. Natural Pleasure opens with the gorgeously dreamy “Imagination,” a song that feels like the sonic embodiment of warmth—and it’s all uphill from there. “Funny” is probably my favorite from this album, but as with a pretty good number of the albums I listened to this month, it’s not at all easy to pick just one. I don’t know it’s purely circumstantial, given the horrible state of the world right now as well as the still-rising difficulty of my own personal hardships, but this album is as much a comfort album as any. I’m hesitant to call it dream pop, because it lacks a certain ethereal dreaminess that’s nearly impossible to describe in words beyond ‘specific vibe,’ but then again, I don’t really know what other genre bucket to drop this album into either. Broncho seem to defy genre entirely with Natural Pleasure, and though it’s only number three on my list this month, I would venture to say this is the one I’d recommend most highly to just about anyone in need of a good hug, which is to say, just about anyone, period.
2. Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls by chokecherry
I’m almost positive I discovered this album from Abby Schleifer’s Albums I Listened To All The Way Through newsletter, which I highly recommend, I’ve gotten a bunch of great album recs from that newsletter. Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls was in one of Abby’s recent editions of the newsletter, and it was the band’s name that really piqued my interest. When I discovered chokecherry was a duo, I was even more intrigued, having just recently realized that a lot more of my all time favorite artists are duos than I had initially thought (the White Stripes, Beach House, the Jesus and Mary Chain). That they were a pair of badass female rockers was just the icing on the multi-tiered cake. Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls is their first full-length album, after roughly two years of releasing singles. Suffice it to say, this debut might be one of the best introductions to an artist I’ve ever had, in no small part due to the fact that this album is representative of their introduction to the greater music world as well.
This album seems to tell a story from start to finish. It is complete with soft vocal harmonies, catchy electric guitar riffs, and steady drum beats—an almost formulaic level of musical merit. Where some songs are upbeat indie-rock anthems, some are more laid-back angsty power ballads. Some tracks are perfectly crafted for niche local radio stations, while others, more downtempo, may not be nearly as palatable to the masses, which makes them all the more delicious. In a word, chokecherry’s debut studio album is intimate. It establishes their credibility as a duo, and while, at times, one may get the sense that they are still trying to nail down their sound with this album, there is not one moment of this album that lulls or detracts from its overall quality.
1. Belong by Jay Som
I had seen quite a bit of buzz about this album when it was released back in October, and it’s loosely been on my radar for the two months since. Admittedly, there’s a fine line when it comes to an album’s coverage that makes it appeal to me—or that pushes me away from it. Typically if it bursts into mainstream coverage within the first week of its release, with a handful of exceptions of course, I won’t exactly race to listen to it. Lucky for Jay Som (because I’m sure she has been very eagerly anticipating my listen to Belong), I couldn’t remember where any of the articles covering her album had been. Most likely at least one was here on Substack, which, even if an album is covered by outlets like Pitchfork or Rolling Stone, is usually enough to override my aversion to its mainstream. I don’t really care to go back and check because, you know, ignorance is bliss, but I can only hope that this album was, in fact, covered in Pitchfork or Rolling Stone. Jay Som fucking deserves it.
This album incorporates the best of everything I love about music. The genre-bending, perfectly matched harmonies from a healthy number of collaborators, and balanced use of traditional instruments and production and mixing, this album gets better each and every time I listen to it, because each time I notice something new that I absolutely love. It is so deeply polished, and oozes confidence at any and every given second. At only 33 minutes, I think the only negative thing I have to say about Jay Som’s fourth LP is that I want so much more. 33 minutes is not and never could be enough. Highlights (though all 11 tracks are fucking phenomenal) include “What You Need,” “Appointments,” and of course, “Past Lives” featuring the incomparable Hayley Williams.
If you have any thoughts about any of the above albums, want to recommend some albums for the last month of 2025(!!!), or just wanna say hi, let me know! Thanks for making it this far, and I’m looking forward to sharing more of the music I love with you in the future!
One of the coolest venues ever, with an opener who absolutely blew me away—Ghost Funk Orchestra, which boasts arguably the greatest trumpet player I’ve ever seen, and an equally amazing sax player
For all the platform’s seemingly endless faults, Spotify has given me a decent amount of amazing recommendations. I owe my discovery of Lilys, one of my absolute favorite underground ‘90s shoegaze bands, to the Spotify algorithm.