Right in the middle of Britpop renaissance of 2025 was the live return of the Gallagher brothers in a reformed Oasis line-up. Thrillingly for longtime fans, 3/5ths of the original band were included with Bonehead joining on guitar – a thrill to see one of the main members joining in on the fun. Drummer Joey Waronker was included along with Gem Archer and Andy Bell to round out the main band.
Sticking to Oasis’ heyday, the group ran through the highlights of the 1994-97 era. With their most elaborate stage show ever, the band played the exact same set every night including the second night of the Toronto shows which we saw. The devotion, intensity, love, and excitement was in the air as the Adidas wearing crowd sang along to every lyric including all the B-sides. Doing the Poznan to “Cigarettes and Alcohol”, the Noel sung “Half The World Away”, a reminder of who is the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and closing with “Champagne Supernova” – The hype was real, this was a remarkable live comeback.
It had been 24 years since we got an actual album from Jarvis Cocker with his old mates in Pulp. Sadly, More is the first album since the passing of bassist Steve Mackey. Still, he would be proud of what the band produced with several highlights including the upbeat “Spike Island” and the mature, “Farmers Market”. They’ve done many tours throughout the years, here’s hoping that it doesn’t take as long to release another album.
Author Peter Ames Carlin has written several music biographies on musicians such as Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. In late 2024 he published a book on alternative rock heroes R.E.M. called The Name Of This Band Is R.E.M. Carlin writes about each member’s early childhoods, their days in Athens, signing with IRS Records, then right through their ascendency to rock superstars (then back down again). Thankfully there is little in the way of salacious gossip but doesn’t shy away from a few incidents of controversary. A really good read about one of America’s greatest bands.
Sadly, the British trio Saint Etienne announced their retirement in 2025, bowing out with two new albums. In our musical journey, we reached way back to the deluxe edition of their 1993 debut, Foxbase Alpha that was released in 2016. It’s an eclectic mix of 60s pop, indie rock and club beats. Original tracks like “People Get Ready” stand alongside magnificent covers including Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and the spellbinding take on Field Mice’s, “Kiss And Make Up”. The extra disc of rarities almost eclipses the actual album.
One distinct memory of high school was having a substitute math teacher quote Paul Simon’s 1973 single, “Kodachrome” with the line, “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school”. I’m not sure if the teacher was disgruntled or trying to be edgy but I may have been one of the few in the class that knew the lyric but not much of the rest of the song. While reviewing the album it appears on, “Kodachrome” really sunk into my conscious and remained there for months. Singing about the joys of owning a Nikon camera that captures the green of summer and makes everyday seem sunny swirled in my head, now making it one of my favourite Paul Simon songs.
I’ve owned The Supremes’ greatest hits album Gold for years now. Listening to the hits, especially the unbeatable one-two punch of “You Keep Me Hanging On” and “You Can’t Hurry Love”. This was the year I finally did a deeper dive into the singles released with and without Diana Ross. With a staggering twelve #1 hits, it felt like barely scratching the surface to do a review. Still, it was a exciting to find other tracks to listen to like the excellent “Stone Love” and dancefloor filler “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart”.
Honestly, I bought Thompson Twins’ deluxe edition of Into The Gap on a whim. It was a favourite tape from the early 80s that I had never bought on CD. After seeing it advertised many times, I took the plunge into the three disc version released in 2024. Filled with several top ten UK hits including “Doctor Doctor”, “You Take Me Up” and worldwide hit “Hold Me Now”, the original record plays like a greatest hits. Adding in countless versions of all the songs on the album, it was a fun listen to a great album from an era where songs were reworked constantly for the dancefloor.
Dean Wareham made his name with his bands Galaxie 500 and Luna. He’s mostly been on the periphery of my music listening – always around but rarely front and centre. That changed immediately with the release of his sixth solo album, That’s The Price Of Loving Me that came out in the spring. The album has appeared in a few critics top albums of 2025 but for others got lost in the mix. The sun dappled record was often dreamy and hypnotic, bookended by two excellent songs including the closer – “The Cloud Is Coming”.
North Carolina band Wednesday made waves in 2023 with their album, Rat Saw God and continued that momentum with this year’s critically acclaimed, Bleeds. One of the highlights of the album was the lap steel guitar sounds of “Elderberry Wine”. The track sees singer Karly Hartzman lovingly stretch to hit the high note in the chorus before later harmonizing with guitarist MJ Lenderman. A memorable sing-a-along single from a really good album.
Wet Leg exploded onto the scene in 2023 with several singles including the enduring, “Chaise Lounge”. They would have been forgiven for hitting a sophomore slump after the initial clutch of songs but leaders Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers were having none of that. Adding their touring band into the official line-up, the now five piece band came back with the excellent moisturizer. Love was the main focus of the album, including on the track “CPR” but the band was just as feisty as ever on the threatening “Catch These Fists”.
The Light Appears 