These five new albums were released in January and February 2025, and we still have them on repeat. That’s when you know an album is a good one, when you can’t stop listening to it. From the thoughtfully and beautifully crafted new album by Youth Lagoon to the seducing bouquet of dance music from FKA twigs, these recent releases will surely warrant a repetitive listen. Techno, indie pop, experimental, rock — we love all the styles, especially when artists fuse them. Give them a spin!

Don’t forget to check out our Best New Songs of the Month for new songs. We update the playlist daily!

FKA twigs — EUSEXUA

While no stranger to electronic music, EUSEXUA finds twigs tackling dance music, in particular, putting her own spin on it in the process. The title track is twigs guiding the listener into the world of EUSEXUA, both through her distinct vocal style and a rising underbelly of synths that intensify throughout the runtime. Like a vortex, the song serves as the first taste of what’s to come, continuing twigs’ exploration of themes such as being too emotionally available for those around you while slowly descending into a new era marked by house influences.

Twigs has always had the ability to strike close to the heart, baring her soul in the production but especially in the revealing, heart-stirring lyrics. EUSEXUA deviates from past work, zeroing on moments of happiness and pure euphoria. In a song true to the definition of what eusexua means, “Girl Feels Good” doubles as an empowering message for women, a familiar but still revelatory topic for twigs.

On the fittingly titled “Drums of Death” featuring co-executive director of EUSEXUA Koreless, twigs embraces a different side of electronic music: industrial.

Calling twigs a singular artist is putting it lightly, especially when she’s often ahead of the curve. In the same way LP1 predated the eclectic route that many pop and R&B artists would take in the coming years, EUSEXUA comes at a time when house and dance music are becoming fixtures in the mainstream. But what separates twigs from everyone else is how she gives it a soul, focusing on what house music means for people while succeeding in bringing people to the dancefloor.

Catch FKA twigs on her EUSEXUA 2025 TOUR, including her Coachella dates.

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Youth Lagoon — Rarely Do I Dream

Youth Lagoon’s Trevor Powers continues to beautifully reinvent himself with new album, Rarely Do I Dream. Gushing with transcendent songs that just feel so damn good, like a feast for the senses, Youth Lagoon delivers something emotionally visceral with Rarely Do I Dream. Opening with “Neighborhood Scene,” Powers invites listeners into his childhood utilizing snippets of home tape recordings, only recently discovered in a shoebox in his parents’ basement. That magical feeling of comfort transitions when you open the door to the darkwave disco with “Speed Freak,” immediately offering an insatiable depth of sounds and vibes that is perfectly balanced throughout the album.

Like a filmmaker born in the body of a songwriter, Powers’ already decadent production, paired with his androgynous vocals, creates a cinematic energy. Particularly, songs like “Gumshoe (Dracula From Arkansas),” “Lucy Takes a Picture,” “Perfect World,” and “My Beautiful Girl” have a welcoming warmth, as though invited to flip through a family photo album or read a page from a diary. The entire album is a remarkable creation, sparkling with a marriage of beautiful sounds arranged in a way that evokes a feeling of comfort.

Catch Youth Lagoon on tour with a Los Angeles date at The Regent on April 9.

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Maddie Jay — I Can Change Your Mind

Five years into her career, singer-songwriter/producer Maddie Jay has come a long way from recording in her bedroom to dropping I Can Change Your Mind out via Real Canadian Cheddar. Synths shapeshift throughout the album as Jay’s voice moves from high to low. Long before the release of her full-length debut, the British Columbian artist had already earned cosigns through opening for Remi Wolf, Lorde, and Summer Walker. Since kicking off in 2020, singles such as “I Got You” quickly distinguished Jay from other artists who got their start making music out of their bedroom. However, through the process of putting together I Can Change Your Mind, she found herself expanding what could be done through collaboration.

On top of coming into her own as an artist in more ways than one, Jay hasn’t lost sight of the palpable enthusiasm she showed when she was first getting started. I Can Change Your Mind is full of these moments, often expressed through the music itself. The ending of “Chemical” is perhaps the album’s best moment, carrying over Jay’s endearing beginnings as a bedroom pop artist while uplifting her musical foundation into something likely to earn the envy of even the most experienced producers.

Catch Maddie Jay live in Los Angeles for an album release show at Scribble on March 15.

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Ghais Guevara — Goyard Ibn Said

It’s rare for rappers to come onto the scene and already have a strong sense of artistic identity. Rapper/producer Ghais Guevara happens to be one of the rare ones, having dropped his debut album, Goyard Ibn Said, out via Fat Possum. A project that Guevara has been building up to for quite some time—down to the title of his last album, Goyard Comin: Exordium—Goyard Ibn Said is anthological in structure, tackling different issues and sharing personal experiences made grand by the songs. Both a concept album and a mirror to reality, it’s clear that Goyard Ibn Said is Guevara giving it his all, using the titular protagonist as a way to explore themes not often discussed in hip-hop or music at large.

As a rapper and producer, Guevara knows how to tailor-make beats to his liking, with the results speaking for themselves. Similar to how “The Old Guard Is Dead” kicks off the album, “4L” properly sets the tone for the second act. While containing some of the same hallmarks of other songs, the unorthodox beat works in Guevara’s favor, preventing the tracklist from bleeding into one another.

The album’s narrative reflects Guevara’s rise in music, albeit with far more twists and turns. The concept is hardly limiting, allowing him to stay honest in his lyrics while exploring hypotheticals close to reality. 

Ethel Cain — Perverts

Like ‘Preacher’s Daughter,’ everything on Perverts is written and produced by Hayden Anhedönia herself. The album is full of long-running ambient experiences that are the stuff of nightmares—in the best way possible. In addition to not continuing the Ethel Cain story that began on Preacher’s Daughter, Perverts is the response to Anhedönia’s newfound success, taking a creative leap away from the folk and alt-pop music she became known for and experimenting with soundscapes ranging from the soothing to the abrasive.

At times, distorted but always amplified by reverb, the production style on Perverts is unlike anything likely to be released in the near future. On the album’s opener and title track, the distant rumbles and eerie breaths are the kind you’d hear in a Mica Levi composition, with dreadful drones in the background adding to the suspense that remains omnipotent on the project.

For anyone worried Ethel Cain may venture too far into experimental work, the album’s use of crisp guitar and gentle vocals signals a still strong interest in creating music as accessible as it is booming, with individuality. But for now, Perverts is an uncompromising effort unafraid of disturbing listeners yet pulling them in regardless due to the sheer audaciousness of the project.