REVIEW: Griffin’s Sept. 2025 album wrap-up
WRITTEN BY: Griffin King
In a year that has been abundant with great albums, September might be the densest month of 2025 in terms of big releases. It felt like every week in September had at least one record that was highly anticipated. The following is a series of short reviews on a few of the big albums that came out this past September.
If you have heard anything about Big Thief recently, it was probably the departure of their long-time bassist in July. If you heard anything about Big Thief before that, it was probably their universally acclaimed double album Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe in You. This came out in 2022 and has been widely considered as one of the defining records of the 2020s, regardless of genre. This is to say that the pressure was high for this newest record. Personally, I didn’t have much faith in the band before this record came out. I was convinced the magic was gone. The departure of a core member is a bad omen for any band, especially one that was this good and had been defined by a near telepathic musical connection and closeness their entire career. (Headlines like “Our bassist leaving was like a divorce” certainly didn’t help assuage these fears). That closeness is gone on this new album, but the band doesn’t try to play around that empty space; instead, they fill it with a dizzying level of sonic texture. With the help of an array of session musicians, the band opens up the songs to other voices. Had the band stayed the course and not kicked the metaphorical door down, a track like “Los Angeles” would’ve been good, but the additional vocalists, percussion, and strings make it great. That song, as well as Double Infinity as a whole, feels inviting, which isn’t something I can necessarily say about any other Big Thief record. After the major shakeup, the band is coming back with an album that’s this warm, which is a treat to hear. It feels great to be wrong. Listen to this if you love details.
4/5
Favorite Tracks: Incomprehensible, How Could I Have Known
Hyperglyph- Chicago Underground Duo
Chicago Underground, as with most long-running jazz groups, has had numerous different looks throughout the years. The founders, horn player Rob Mazurek and drummer Chad Taylor, made music as a duo from 1998 to 2014, occasionally performing as a trio or quartet or as a full orchestra one time. Since 2014, however, it’s been hard to find a new record from these guys. In fact, Hyperglyph is the first album from Mazurek and Taylor as Chicago Underground Duo since 2014, and, amazingly, you wouldn’t know it just from listening to the record. These two slide back into place remarkably quickly. The Duo are talented enough that if Hyperglyph was just “Chicago Underground pick up where they left off,” it would still be great, but these two 50-somethings’ commitment to weirdness elevates this beyond just a simple reunion record. Listen to this if you’re a jazz fan or want to be one.
4/5
Favorite tracks: Hyperglyph, Plymouth
This latest from Wednesday, the North Carolina-based rock outfit led by now-exes Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman, crash lands like a Cessna in a corn field with the electric opening track “Reality TV Argument Bleeds” before just absentmindedly sliding back into the fundamentals for the rest of the first half. It’s alright, Hartzman’s vocals are at the best they’ve ever been, and Lenderman’s guitar continues to amaze, but I’m left wanting more. The good news is I got more because the last stretch of songs starting with “The Way Love Goes” sees the band completely pivot and launch excellent new ideas after excellent new ideas until the end of the album. There’s “The Way Love Goes” itself, which is a great understated ballad, “Wasp,” which is a short blast of noise rock that is a welcome diversion before “Carolina Murder Suicide,” a slow atmosphere piece loosely recounting a real true crime case. The back half of this album is bold swing after bold swing, which makes the first half playing it super safe all the more confusing to me. Listen to this if you already like Wednesday.
2/5
Favorite Tracks: “Reality TV Argument Bleeds“, “The Way Love Goes“
If you like being on the ground floor, pay attention to these guys. Haloplus+ is a Danish pop trio that is just starting to see some larger international success. I thought this type of hermetically sealed electroacoustic indie pop died out when Clairo released Sling, but turns out bands are still making music like this, and bands are still pretty good at it. Super low stakes record, there’s a song with beatboxing on it that’s called “beatbox”. Listen if you liked TEMPOREX back in 2017.
3/5
Favorite Tracks: “Open Air Backseat“, “Last Day“
The thing about Cowgirl Clue is that she always existed on the cutting edge. The Texas-based dance musician had a run of singles and a debut record in the late 2010s that fell out of place until a few of the tracks achieved early TikTok success. Her second album, Rodeo Star, was a propulsive, dreamy dance pop record that once again didn’t land at the time of its release. Fast forward two years and a brat summer, and dreamy dance pop records are in high demand. On the one hand, it makes sense for Cowgirl Clue not to innovate and instead capitalize on a trend she predicted. On the other hand, the stagnation makes Total Freedom feel like less of an album and more of an advertisement for a live show. My evidence for that claim is the fact that she started touring for the album the day it came out. Additionally, I got the impression after multiple listens, that this kind of festival-ready hazy electro-pop sound generally plays better to a live audience than it does to a single listener. It is a sound she is running unopposed in, which helps. I may call it setlist fodder, but that is a great thing for the setlist. Listen if you understand the appeal of 2hollis but wish he tried more.
2/5
Favorite tracks: “Full Throttle“, “Lightning“
In case you missed it, the rock band Geese released their second album 3D Country back in 2023. An album that felt poised to be a breakout record but didn’t reach beyond solid critical success and their dedicated fans. That pattern continued last year with Geese lead singer Cameron Winter’s solo album Heavy Metal. Beloved by critics, beloved by Geese fans, didn’t have a real “moment” like it arguably deserved. The newest from Geese is the payoff to all that hype. Getting Killed doesn’t waste time. This record consists of 11 outros for songs that don’t exist and probably shouldn’t, if Geese spent 10 minutes building up to tracks like “Half Real“, “Long Island City Here I Come“, and lead single “Taxes“, they would lose all the immediacy that makes them great. Geese starting in media res means you get right into what makes this band, finally, the most discussed band in America, some of the cleanest full-band interplay you can find, and a lead singer who sings like someone is pulling the lyrics out of his throat. That last part sounds like an insult, but I promise it’s not. Listen if you want to hear a funny pronunciation of the word Jericho.
4/5Favorite Tracks: “Long Island City Here I Come”, “Au Pays du Cocaine“
