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OCTA New Music Weekly – Episode #332

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I did skip a week like you may have noticed. I was on full vacation mode. Sorry if someone was waiting for this, but I needed the break. This might not seem like much, but it’s still a grind to compile it every weekend. I will definitely skip one more week in late August and perhaps one before that as well. We’ll see where live music take me during the summer weekends. And well it’s getting again harder and harder to justify making a Spotify playlist, but at least there’s the Tidal option too. But yeah, enough of this. Here’s the new music of the past two weeks. There’s definitely stuff missing, because there were some vacation days when I didn’t listen to new music at all.

Willi Carlisle made the album of the week(s). There’s also great new albums from Jesse Welles, Kathryn Legendre, Vandoliers, The While (wonderful Swedish pop album), Tom Henry, Ryli, The Reds, Pinks and Purples, Lightheaded, Jeanines, The Slow Summits, Space Jaguar, Jonathan Richman, Ceylon Sailor, Western Extra, Hamilton Boyce, The Bobby Tenderloin Universe (country meets metal lyrics), Andrew Smith, Christopher Gold, Rah Rah Rabbit, Laura Stevenson, Quinn Cicala, R&D, Durand Jones & The Indications, Jackson and the Janks, Andy Jenkins, Billy Allen + The Pollies, and Zoh Amba.

The Finnish part of this has albums from Itcevät, The Chiefs and Asko Keränen plus an EP from Saara Heikkilä. Some great singles too from Eerie Deer, Eero Savela (this one is from early summer, but missed it at the time), Enkel and Kelluvat Ikkunat.

International single of the week(s) can be the new song from Leslie Graves and Toby Goodshank. I really love it and can’t wait to hear the full album. Other early faves came from Ron Sexsmith, Greg Freeman, Ian Noe (Bruce cover), Black Sea Dahu, Jens Kuross, Jessica Risker, Blair Borax, Josh Halper, Asher Kartman, Kathleen Edwards, Jack Symes, Sparrow Smith… again just to name a few.

That’s all for now. Like, share, follow and all the usual promotional nonsense. It all matters. Most likely back next week with another one of these, but who knows for sure. Love.

1. Willi Carlisle – Wildflowers Growin (Winged Victory, Signature Sounds)
2. Jesse Welles – Grapes of Wrath (Pilgrim)
3. Kathryn Legendre – Best Western Breakdown (Here’s Your Honky Tonk)
4. Vandoliers – Bible Belt (Life Behind Bars, Break Maiden Records / Thirty Tigers)
5. The While – Cherries (The While)
6. Tom Henry – Close Your Eyes (Songs to Sing and Dance To, Royal Oakie Records)
7. Ryli – Come and Get Me (Come and Get Me, Dandy Boy Records)
8. The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Marty as a Youth (The Past is a Garden I Never Fed, Fire Records)
9. Lightheaded – Me and Amelia Fletcher (Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming, Slumberland Records)
10. Jeanines – Coaxed a Storm (How Long Can It Last, Skep Wax Records)
11. The Slow Summits – Better Off (Every Intention, Subjangle)
12. Space Jaguar – Fall to Pieces (If You Play Expect to Pay)
13. Ceylon Sailor – All Promises Will Break Eventually (Here We Lie, Stunning Models on Display)
14. Jonathan Richman – You Need Me Too (Only Frozen Sky Anyway, Broken Arrow Records)
15. Western Extra – The Tether (Zig Zags on the Book of Changes)
16. Andrew Smith – Luna (Spent, Barely There Records)
17. Christopher Gold – A Couple More (Ramble)
18. Hamilton Boyce – Last Train Robber (L.A. Nights)
19. The Bobby Tenderloin Universe – Breaking the Law (A Fistful Metal EP, Country Moon Records)
20. Rah Rah Rabbit – A Man I Once Knew (Chasin’ Rabbits, Catching Squirrels, Blackbird Record Label)
21. Jackson and the Janks – Lament (Write It Down, Jalopy Records)
22. Durand Jones & The Indications – Really Wanna Be With You (Flowers, Dead Oceans)
23. Billy Allen + The Pollies – Forever (Black Noise, Single Lock Records)
24. Laura Stevenson – Domino (Late Great, Really Records)
25. Quinn Cicala – Second Change (Gold)
26. Andy Jenkins – Sunshine (Since Always, Psychic Hotline)
27. R&D – When Time Means Nothing (I’ll Send You a Sing, Ruination Record Co)
28. Zoh Amba – Ma (Sun, Smalltown Supersound)
29. Eero Savela – Venus (single, Mustik Motel)
30. Enkel – Ystävyys, lempi ja rakkaus (single, Nordic Notes)
31. Saara Heikkilä – Hellempi heinäkuu (Hellempi heinäkuu EP)
32. Itcevät – Aina jotain jää (Ehkä maailma ei lopu vielä huomenna, Itcevät Records)
33. Eerie Deer – Starling Baby (single)
34. Asko Keränen – Winters Bone (Gralange, Bone Voyage Recording Co)
35. The Chiefs – Far Too Long (Xonoring / Blue Bear Records)
36. Kelluvat Ikkunat – Itämerenneito (single, V.R. Label Finland)
37. Greg Freeman – Gallic Shrug (single, Transgressive Records)
38. Ian Noe – Born in the USA (single, Lock13 Records / Thirty Tigers)
39. Ryan Lee Crosby – Mistreating People (single, Crossnote Records)
40. William Alexander – Boundary Rider Blues (single)
41. Charley Crockett – Crusified Son (single, Lonestar Rider / Island Records)
42. Tyler Childers – Oneida (single, RCA Records / Hickman Holler Records)
43. Matt Woods – Who Are You Fighting (single, Lonely Ones Records)
44. Jessica Pounds feat Nathan Kalish – Believe Me (single, Yellow Canary)
45. Blair Borax – The Color Green (single)
46. Black Sea Dahu – One Day Will Be All I Have (single, Mouthwatering Records)
47. Jessica Risker – 4AM (single)
48. Leslie Graves and Toby Goodshank – Natural Way (single, BB*Island)
49. Ron Sexsmith – Cigarette and Cocktail (single, Cooking Vinyl / Ronboy Rhymes)
50. Jens Kuross – Beggar’s Nation (single, Woodsist)
51. Josh Halper – Use a Friend (single, Glamour Gowns)
52. Scree – August (single, Ruination Record Co)
53. Shabason, Krgvich & Tenniscoats – Our Detour (single, Western Vinyl)
54. Floating Action – Waited Such a Long Time (single, Airloom)
55. Kyle Cox – Lazy River (single)
56. Fortunato Durutti Marinetti – A Perfect Pair (single, Quindi Records / We Are Time)
57. Asher Kartman – The One to Blame (single)
58. Icarus Phoenix – Mark & Kyle (single, Telos Tapes)
59. Jake Winstrom – Don’t Make the Rules (single, Meaux Money Meaux Music)
60. The Martial Arts – Hold on Full of Hope (single, WIAIWYA)
61. Fortitude Valley – Video (Right There With You) (single, Specialist Subject)
62. Shoulder Season – Hard 2 get on it (single)
63. Case Oats – In a Bungalow (single, Merge Records)
64. lulu melons – Unavailable (single, The Dime Store)
65. The Weather Station – Looks Just Like the Sun (single, Fat Possum Records)
66. Mina Tindle feat Sufjan Stevens – Heaven Thunder (single, S76)
67. Lola Wild feat Aistis – Lost Signal (single)
68. Emma Swift – Nothing and Forever (single, Tiny Ghost Records)
69. Kathleen Edwards – Pine (single, Dualtone Music Group)
70. Ian Badger – (Once) I Had It All (single, North Country Collective)
71. Nicki Bluhm – Cumberland Banks (single)
72. Sparrow Smith feat Cat Clyde – Hard Working Women (single, Sassafras Sounds)
73. Mose Wilson – Workin Man (single)
74. Joseph Decosimo – Ida Red (single, Dear Life Records)
75. The Pink Stones – If I Can’t Win (With You) (single, Normaltown Records)
76. Tommy Prine – Purple Paint (single, Nameless Knight)
77. Jack Symes – I Wish You Would (single, Ay Caramba Records)
78. Alien Eyelid – Vinegar Hill (single, Tall Texan)
79. SnarskiCircusLindyBand – You’re So Adorable (single, Snarski & Morrison)
80. Constellation Myths – A Consolation (single)
81. Peaceful Faces – I Let It Happen (Without a Single Fight, Glamour Gowns)
82. James McMurtry – Sons of the Second Sons (The Black Dog and The Wandering Son, New West Records)
83. Little Mazarn – The Great Divide (Mustang Island, Dear Life Records)
84. Alex Amen – And Her Colors (The Zorthian Tapes EP, Country Worm Studios)
85. S.G. Goodman – Heaven Song (Planting By the Signs, Slough Water Records / Thirty Tigers)

Spotify Playlist

Tidal Playlist

YouTube Playlist

A few Bandcamp cuts for the lovely non-streamers:





Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

I’ll make the playlist on Spotify and then transfer it to other platforms. This means a few tracks might be missing from the from the other platforms, if they are not available there. Oh and there’s a bunch of older episodes on my Spotify profile, if you miss an episode or want to revisit.

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Playlist

OCTA New Music Weekly – Episode #331

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A quick midsummer vacation edition of the new music weekly, because there was so much good new music that I didn’t have the heart to skip this one. Maybe I skip the next one. Most likely not, because most likely lovely people are again releasing a lot of lovely new music. We sure need it during these dark times.

Album of the week is the new S.G.Goodman. Alex Amen’s EP might still be my favorite release of the week. But I love both of them and it doesn’t end there. A lot of strong albums this week. There’s new ones from Little Mazarn, James McMurtry, Kelsey Waldon, Presley Haile (EP), Eric Long, The Bones of J.R. Jones, Love Axe, Adam Amram, Michael Robert Murphy, Dorio, Peaceful Faces (this ones a few weeks old), Nelson Bragg, Coma Cinema, Scott McMicken and the EVER-EXPANDING, Whitney’s Playland (EP), Sally Anne Morgan and The Witches’ Hymnal.

Finnish section has a run of awesome singles from Mitä helvettiä nyt taas, Rock Siltanen Group, Nikita Titov, Modem and Waver.

Dean Johnson, Anna Tivel and Sabine McCalla can share the international single of the week honors. Wonderful stuff all around. Other early favorites came from Jeffrey Martin, The Deep Dark Woods, Cooper Kenward, Jake Nicoll, Martha, Sloan… again just to name a few.

That’s all for now. Like, share, follow and all the usual promotional nonsense. It all matters. I’ll go back to vacation mode. Most likely back next week with another of these unless I’m too deep in the vacation mode and have thrown my laptop into the lake (just a figure of speech, don’t throw stuff in the nature). Love.

1. Alex Amen – Why Does He Try (Garnet’s Song, The Zorthian Tapes EP)
2. S.G. Goodman – Solitaire (Planting by the Sings, Slough Waters / Thirty Tigers)
3. Little Mazarn – The Cloud and the Snail (Mustang Island, Dear Life Records)
4. James McMurtry – The Color of the Night (The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy, New West Records)
5. Kelsey Waldon – Let It Lie (Every Ghost, Oh Boy Records)
6. Presley Haile – Sunny Day (Off to Find a Sunny Day EP, Columbia Records)
7. Eric Long – Doghouse Saloon (Honky Tonk Wisdom)
8. The Bones of J.R. Jones – Hills (Radio Waves, Tone Tree Music)
9. Adam Amram – Waiting Time (Adam Amram Family Band to the End)
10. Love Axe – Where to Dig (Optimism Paranoia Desperation Abolition, Grandmother Clock)
11. Peaceful Faces – Half a Secret (Without a Single Fight, Glamour Gowns)
12. Michael Robert Murphy feat By the Sea – Cyclone (Chaos Magick, Blaggers Records)
13. Dorio – Plastic Heart (Super Love 3, Earth Libraries)
14. Nelson Bragg – Tell Me I’m Wrong (Melodie de Nelson: A Pop Anthology, Big Stir Records)
15. Coma Cinema – Each Other’s Time (Grand Delusion, Summertime in Hell)
16. Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING – Back to the Sun (New Purple Dress, Press On Records)
17. The Witches’ Hymnal – I Will Run (stars that shine upon the blood EP, Lenya Music Collection)
18. Sally Anne Morgan – Oak Knower (Second Circle the Horizon, Thrill Jockey Records)
19. Dean Johnson – Before You Hit the Ground (single, Saddle Creek)
20. Anna Tivel – Animal Poem (single, Fluff & Gravy Records)
21. Jeffrey Martin – Edge of Lost (single, Fluff & Gravy Records)
22. Sabine McCalla – Could You Be Love (single, Gar Hole Records)
23. The Deep Dark Woods – Traded in Your Name (single, Victory Pool)
24. Whitney’s Playland – Long Rehearsal (Long Rehearsal EP, Dandy Boy Records / Meritorio Records)
25. Martha – 1978, Smiling Politely (single, Specialist Subject Records)
26. Sloan – Live Forever (single, Murderecords)
27. Mitä helvettiä nyt taas – Turku (single, Nature Sucks Anyway Records)
28. Nikita Titov – Täällä kotona (single)
29. Rock Siltanen Group – Mitä täällä tapahtuu (single, Rockia ja sporttia)
30. Modem – BS (single, Don Giovanni Records / Modem Age Records)
31. Waver – Howl (single, Soft Monsters)
32. Wednesday – Wound Up Here (By Holdin On) (single, Dead Oceans)
33. Liquid Mike – AT&T (single)
34. Girlatones – On the Wall (single)
35. SunYears – Spanner in the Works (single, Villa)
36. Jake Nicoll – Free Space (single)
37. Cass McCombs – Peace (single, Domino Recording Co)
38. Carson McHone – Winter Breaking (single, Merge Records)
39. Cooper Kenward – ’53 Bel Air (single, Soggy Anvil Records)
40. Nicholas Jamerson – Running Out of Daylight (single, Cloverdale Records)
41. Rayland Baxter – Albatross (single, Song Confessional)
42. Miles Miller – Weightless (single, Easy Lovin Records)
43. Will Hoge – Sweet Misery (single)
44. Jonathan & Abigail Peyton – I Want that For You (single, Cloverdale Records)
45. J.R. Dalforth – Easy Livin’ (single, Ella Ruth Institutet)
46. R.R. Williams – Who Knew a Heart Could Break Like Mine? (single)
47. Stephen Wilson Jr. – Dig a Hole (single, Big Loud Records)
48. The Bobby Tenderloin Universe – Fear of the Dark (single, Country Moon Records)
49. Andy Boay – One & One (single)
50. Cory Hanson – Lou Reed (single, Drag City)
51. Abigail Flowers – Over the Moon (single)
52. Bonnie Dobson & The Hanging Stars – Get Together (single, Loose Music)
53. Kyle Morgan & Tamar Korn – Everything is Free (single, Jalopy Records)
54. Mya Byrne – Transsexual Blues (single, Stranger’s Gate)
55. Nathan K. – Funny Feeling (single)
56. Fruit Bats – Stuck in My Head Again (single, Merge Records)
57. Chris Staples – Doesn’t Matter Now (single, Hot Tub Recordings)
58. Sister. – Honey (single, Mtn Laurel Recording Co)
59. Dan Darrah & The Rain – The Sister Song (There’s a Place, Sunday Drive Records)
60. Hallelujah the Hills – Night Machine (DECK, Discrete Pageantry Records)

Spotify Playlist

Tidal Playlist

YouTube Playlist

A few Bandcamp cuts for the lovely non-streamers:





Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

I’ll make the playlist on Spotify and then transfer it to other platforms. This means a few tracks might be missing from the from the other platforms, if they are not available there. Oh and there’s a bunch of older episodes on my Spotify profile, if you miss an episode or want to revisit.

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Playlist

OCTA New Music Weekly – Episode #330

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A quick Saturday night new music weekly. I’m sure this won’t cover everything. I’ve had other things. Today was the Barbara Manning / Hulda Huima concert and oh how I loved that. I have to work on Sunday too, because it’s busy time on the day job. So I tried to put something together tonight so that I can rest Sunday evening after work.

Album of the week is the new Dan Darrah & The Rain. I’ve loved that on quick listen. Can’t wait to give it more time, because it seems to be totally my kind of stuff. Bonus points to Hallelujah the Hills and their somewhat crazy Deck project. Four albums and 52 songs, one for each card in a deck. Oh dear, I think we should be given a universal day off from work to listen to that monster. But I’ll get there eventually. If they have time to write and record that, I shouldn’t struggle with just the listening part. Other album gems came from Patton Magee, Joshua Ray Walker, Triptides, Small Paul, Jack Barksdale, Dominique and the Diamonds, Common Holly, Kate Vargas, The Jimmy C, Spencer Kilpatrick & The Sandgators (EP), Graham Hunt, Zach Thompson (EP) and Joseph Allred.

A whole lot of great singles on the Finnish part of this. Hattara is one of my favorite bands these days and I absolutely love their new single. Long time fave Antti Reikko has a new band called A.Reikko & Kaupungin Ääni and their debut single is wonderful. There’s also a gorgeous debut single from Paha Lucia. A new band led by Lotta-Lucia Laine and Sami Lehtonen. Other single gold came from Juppe, Juhlat, KIUSA, Tomi Nordlund & Syvä Joki, messier and Matti Sakari.

On the international singles side of things we have new greatness from Julianna Riolino, Otis Gibbs, Kashus Culpepper feat Sierra Ferrell, Caged Animals, Office Culture & Tony Vaz, Katie Spencer, Winter McQuinn, The Reds, Pinks and Purples (ok an old one that I’ve shared several times before, but I love it and there’s new rarities album on the way, Sharon Silva, Bobby Tenderloin Universe (country meets Slayer)… again just to name a few.

That’s all for now. Like, share, follow and all the usual promotional nonsense. It all matters. Next week is midsummer, which might mean there will be no new music weekly. I haven’t made a final decision, but it might be a good time to take a week off and not force myself. I’ll be on vacation from the dayjob too, so I guess there would be a possibility to make it after midsummer on a Monday or something. But I shall see how much new music there is and do I have the energy / time to make it. If not, I’ll cover two weeks with the next one. Love.

1. Dan Darrah & The Rain – You-Shaped Forever (There’s a Place Records, Sunday Drive Records)
2. Joshua Ray Walker – Heavy Stones (Tropicana, East Dallas Records / Thirty Tigers)
3. Patton Magee – Last Cowboy on the Prairie (Last Cowboy on the Prairie, Patton Magee / Many Hats Distribution)
4. Dominique and the Diamonds – The Canyon (Dominique and the Diamonds EP, Desert Rose Records)
5. Jack Barksdale – The Man, The Myth, The Legend (Voices)
6. Zach Thompson – Be As It May (Algebra Parable EP, Breakfast Records)
7. Small Paul – Heaven on Earth (I Was Love, I Was Light)
8. Triptides – Shapeshifter (Shapeshifter, Triptides / Label 51 Recordings)
9. Common Holly – It’s true we’ve been happier (Anything Glass, Keeled Scales)
10. Hallelujah the Hills feat Craig Finn – Burn This Atlas Down (2 of Clubs) (Deck: CLUBS, Discrete Pageantry Records)
11. Graham Hunt – Frog in the Shower (Timeless World Forever, Run for Cover Records)
12. The Jimmy C – The Boy in the Suitcase (Refreshing, Cheersquad Records & Tapes)
13. Kate Vargas – Little Miss Holy (Golden Hour in the House of Lugosi, Mother West)
14. Spencer Kilpatrick & The Sand Gators – Mike Bibby (Adelman EP)
15. Joseph Allred – Rope Swing on River Styx (Old Time Fantasies, Scissor Tail Records)
16. Kashus Culpepper feat Sierra Ferrell – Broken Wing Bird (single, Big Loud Records)
17. Tyler Childers – Nose on the Grindstone (single, RCA Records / Hickman Holler Records)
18. Otis Gibbs – Eastside (single, Wanamaker)
19. Matt Mitchell Music Co. – Bobbie TIme (single)
20. Julianna Riolino – On a Bluebird’s Wing (single, MoonWhistle Records)
21. Hattara – Beetasalpaaja (single, Cotton Candy Company)
22. Juhlat – Seireeni (single)
23. A. Reikko & Kaupungin Ääni – Pennit (single, Karhuvaltio Records)
24. Paha Lucia – Kaunis elämä (single, Minna Records)
25. KIUSA – Roskikseen (single)
26. Tomi Nordlund & Syvä Joki – Kasvot ventovieraiden (single, Soit Se Silti)
27. Matti Sakari – Sillat (single)
28. messier – See You When You’re Sorry Again (single)
29. Juppe – Woozy (single, Soliti)
30. Office Culture and Tony Vaz – Crazy Walls (single, Jubilee Gang)
31. R&D – Shadow’s Shadow (single, Ruination Record Co)
32. Lena Bartels – Amber (single, Glamour Gowns)
33. Katie Spencer – Come Back and Find Me (single, Lightship Records)
34. Caroline Spence – Where the Time Goes (single, Tone Tree Music)
35. Sharon Silva – People to Please (single)
36. Dana Gavanski – Heart Inside (single, Full Time Hobby)
37. Caged Animals – Radio Down (single, You’ve Changed Records)
38. Winter McQuinn feat Feign Jima and Dylan Young – Walkin’ Through That Door (single, Third Eye Stimuli Records)
39. Alfie Firmin – Anna (single, An Onionheads Production)
40. Leo Walrus – Old Words, New Mess (single, Wahoo Blast)
41. The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Slow Torture of an Hourly Wage (single, Fire Records)
42. Salt Lake Alley – What They “Forgot” To Tell You (single, Shelflife Records)
43. Chris Stamey feat The Lemon Twigs – Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulders) (single, Chris Stamey / Label 51 Recordings)
44. Nelson Bragg – Forever Days (single, Big Stir Records)
45. Jamie Turner – Pure Imagination (single)
46. Icarus Phoenix – Jump Like This and Hop Over (single)
47. Spencer Hoffman feat Jay Som – Harm (single, Anxiety Blanket Records)
48. Alex Amen – Hello Old Man – demo (single, Country Worm Studios)
49. Jack Symes – Everyone in My Dreams is Me (single, Ay Caramba Records)
50. Dillon Warnek – Pretend You Miss Me (single, Soggy Anvil Records)
51. Hamilton Boyce – L.A. Nights (single)
52. Paul McDonald – Rosemarie (single, OBL Records)
53. Margo Price – Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down (single, Loma Vista Recordings)
54. Rebecca Porter – No Evil (single, Holding All the Roses)
55. Coltt Winter Lepley – Sunflower Creek (single, Keystone Artist Connect)
56. The Bobby Tenderloin Universe – South of Heaven (single, Country Moon Records)
57. Patrick Sweany – Ain’t It Hell (single, Nine Mile Records)
58. Julian Taylor – Dedication (single, Howling Turtle)
59. Sally Anne Morgan – Flowers of Shandihar (single, Thrill Jockey Records)
60. Dwayne Jarrell and the Truer Sound – No Reservations (single)
61. Van Darien – surf the stars (single, Janktown Operation)
62. Mose Wilson – Cause I Got You (single)
63. Field Medic – Melancholy (single, Field Medic / Many Hats Distribution)
64. Jukka Nousiainen Trio – Kaikki kaiken aikaa päällekkäin (Jukka Nousiainen Trio, Jukan Musiikki)
65. Matthew Dunn – Algonquin (Love Raiders, Cosmic Range Records)

Spotify Playlist

Tidal Playlist

YouTube Playlist

A few Bandcamp cuts for the lovely non-streamers:





Oh and do buy the vinyl/cd/download. Spotify and other streaming services are perfect for these introductory purposes, but try to buy at least the music that matter the most to you

I’ll make the playlist on Spotify and then transfer it to other platforms. This means a few tracks might be missing from the from the other platforms, if they are not available there. Oh and there’s a bunch of older episodes on my Spotify profile, if you miss an episode or want to revisit.

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Playlist, Top lists

OCTA – Mid-Year Favorites 2025

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Here’s a quick mid-year list of some early favorites of 2025. Not in any ranked order. Well half a dozen at the top might be the biggest favorites at this point and Hectorine the current AOTY, but it’s completely random after that. It’s also very early and there’s a ton of stuff I haven’t listened enough, so something that’s not here might easily be at the top of my AOTY list in December. Applies especially to the stuff that came out in the last month or so, but there’s a lot even from earlier of the year too that I just haven’t gotten around to yet. For example last year I don’t think I had Modem on the mid-year list and it still ended up being one of my favorite Finnish albums of the year. So this is just a snapshot and things might look a lot different in a few months. And actually I could just as well switch half of these right now and be just as happy with the list. But anyway, here’s a few albums that I’ve loved during the first half of 2025. There’s a Tidal / Spotify links at the bottom, if you into such things. Those have giant bubbling under sections too. The international one isn’t very up-to-date though and I’m sure some are missing from the Finnish one too. Those won’t stay as mid-year playlists though and I will eventually add more stuff to them.

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2025 SO FAR

Hectorine – Arrow of Love (Take a Turn Records)
Will Stratton – Points of Origin (Bella Union / Ruination Record Co)
Lou Hazel – Riot of the Red (Superboco)
Fust – Big Ugly (Dear Life Records)
Kassi Valazza – From Newman Street (Loose Music / Fluff & Gravy Records)
Flora Hibberd – Swirl (22TWENTY)
Cici Arthur – Way Through (Western Vinyl)
The Delines – Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom (Decor Records)
Pearl Charles – Desert Queen (Taurus Rising Records / Last Night in Glasgow)
Colin Miller – Losin’ (Mtn. Laurel Recording Co)
Esther Rose – Want (New West Records)
Jerry David DeCicca – Cardiac Country
The Bird Calls – Melody Trail (Ruination Record Co)
Renny Conti – Renny Conti
Clara Mann – Rift (51state Conspiracy)
Josiah Flores – Doin’ Fine (Speakeasy Studios SF)
Nicole Hale – Some Kind of Longing
Juliet McConkey – Southern Front (Soggy Anvil Records)
Bells Larsen – Blurring Time (Royal Mountain Records)
Attention Bird Utopia – Best of Kings (here, here recordings)
Sharp Pins – You Have a Way (K recs / perennial)
Ken Pomeroy – Cruel Joke (Rounder)
Friendship – Caveman Wakes Up (Merge Records)
Will Johnson – Diamond City (Keeled Scales)
The Weather Station – Humanhood (Fat Possum Records)
Slow Motion Cowboys – Wolf of St. Elmo (Arkam Records)
Sunny War – Armageddon in a Summer Dress (New West Records)
King Hüsky – King Hüsky (Hype City Music)
The Burning Hell – Ghost Palace (BB*Island / You’ve Changed Records)
Jacksonport – Ting Ting (Ay Caramba Records)

FAVORITE FINNISH ALBUMS OF 2025 SO FAR

Rosettes – Lifestyles (Timmion Records)
Jolly Jumpers – Rural Slang (If Society)
Slack Bird – Jos emme saa tanssia (Harava Records)
Ne Lintuizet – Uusi huone (Texicalli Records)
ITE EEROLA – Kolmen päivän levy IV (Panama-levyt)
Jukka Nousiainen Trio – Jukka Nousiainen Trio (Jukan Musiikki)
Sonja Selene – Pimeä pää (Helmi Levyt)
Kismet – fast and sweet (Kammio Records / Tobold Piipari Records)
Ullalintulampi – Kannattelen (Panama-levyt)
The Moontwins – Night Times (Playground)
Lala Salama – Miltähän me näytettäis yhdessä (All That Plazz)
Ville Vuorenmaa – Päivä jolloin minusta tuli tipu (Salaluukku Records)
Jean Ramsay – Between the Briar and the Rose
Topi Saha – Öitä (Soit Se Silti)
Leipä – Auttaa jaksamaan (Tulli-levyt)
The Snake – Always Bites Back (Svart Records)
Ghost World – Armadillo Cafe (Svart Records)
Juovat – joo joo joo (Alakulttuuritalo)
Jani Matti Juhani – Laulaa Elvistä Suomeksi Vol.3 (Punaiset Levyt)
Lauri Kallio – Turtles, Cats and Other Creatures (Mustik Motel)

Albums playlist on Spotify
Albums playlist on Tidal
Finnish albums playlist on Spotify
Finnish albums playlist on Tidal

FAVORITE SONG OF 2025 SO FAR:

Hectorine – Is Love an Illusion? (Take a Turn Records)

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