Recommended Albums: February 2025

Only a few days under two months late, I’ve got a list of my favorite records of February 2025 below. Truthfully I wasn’t paying too much attention to new music from the month aside from the Horsegirl and Oklou records, but looking back I had a nice array of records to pick from. Oh yeah and I mean, anything Yo La Tengo was going to make it, even if it was the film score for a 20-year old movie. I was also planning my wedding all of February, so hey. I’ve got some leeway here.

No Warm Visions descriptions below because that part of my brain is still getting repaired.

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Recommended Albums: January 2025

To anyone that’s been disappointed about the lack of updates on Warm Visions, I humbly apologize. 2025 has been quite the wild year and it’s been a bit tough to get the motivation to focus on new music like I have in the past. This might be an indication that I am becoming washed, or perhaps I’m filling my life with more pointless hobbies. Both can definitely be true. At the very least though, I’ve still got Recommended Albums to catch up on, and January comes logically first.

Truth be told I started off the year taking a concerted break from actively listening to new releases to try and focus on either past favorites, new-to-me albums, or purely just let my ear guide me where it will. Where it brought me was DJ mixes, namely the fabric presents, DJ-Kicks and LateNightTales mixes. Great for just putting on and not thinking about for a while, unless the selector spins something spicy. January 2025 did have some solid records though, and here’s where you can look back on them.

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Warm Visions’ Top 10 Concerts of 2024

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Realized I did things a little out of order, as I like to post the year’s Retrospective after all my “Best Of” lists are done. Well, woops. I still had to list out my favorite concerts I saw in 2024, of which there are a few!

Below you’ll find my Top 10 favorite shows of 2024, organized alphabetically, plus a bunch of rogue favorite memories / moments from the other shows I went to. Overall, this was a great year of shows – the most I saw since before the pandemic. Getting back out there! If you see an artist coming to your town sometime this year, take the plunge and go see them, even if you have to go alone! Live music is soul-filling, and helps our new music ecosystem.

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2024 Retrospective – 100 Discoveries, Obsessions and True Moments + Listening Stats

Every year since 2014, I’ve taken time at the end of my Best of the Year list season to survey the field, to take stock in the music that defined my year, and not just the tracks that came out that year. You can find the whole list HERE. Sure most of the songs in the playlist were brand new so of course they will sound like 2024 looking back, but some weren’t from this year. I wanted to catalog how each year sounded, with the week-long obsessions or radical discoveries woven in, and provide a resource for me to be able to say “hmm I wonder what mid-year 2017 sounded like… oh here’s the playlist”, and get warped back to another time. This isn’t escapism (ok maybe some shred of it is), but it’s mostly just preserving memories and the music associated with them. 

Kind of crazy to think about how this is the 10th year I’ve done this. Looking back at my first in 2014, aka my rowdiest year alive, I was living it up. Partying often, working in NYC, making new friends, experiencing new things, the works. You can check out that feature HERE, although you’ve been warned that it was written by a 22 year old. 10 years later, I’ve never felt more stagnant. That’s not to say there wasn’t any enjoyment, or good music being bumped regularly, but I need to claw out. Make the year feel as dynamic as 2014 reads.

But let’s get back to 2024 – below you’ll find 100 songs that soundtracked my 2024, followed by my listening stats (basically my “Wrapped”, a little log of other non-music media consumed in 2024, and finally a short diary section summarizing my thoughts on the year as a whole. There’s also a playlist that you can follow along with below as well.

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Warm Visions’ Top 100 Songs of 2024

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Moving right along with Warm Visions list extravaganza with my favorite songs of 2024. Like the last few years, I’ve listed 90 of my favorite songs below alphabetically and then ranked my top 10 favorites below that.

Commenting on my top 10 favorite songs, it seems like I had two moods this year: brainless belligerent and overemotional sap. There’s really no in between. Lots of songs that go really hard combined with songs that really cut me deep. It’s what we’ve been boiled down to in 2024, it seems.  Not a lot of surprises elsewhere, I’d say this falls in line with what I’ve seen from other sites + friends music opinions. Less pop though. Even with Chappell Roan on the list. Included “Good Luck, Babe!” because it sounds like Miharu Koshi’s “Ryugujyo No Koibito”.

You’ll find a Spotify playlist to listen along with below, and remember to support the artists of songs you really love from this list.

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Warm Visions’ Top 50 Albums of 2024

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Hello dear reader of Warm Visions dot net, and welcome to my favorite time of the year: Best of 2024 season. This season has fully passed for nearly every other music site on the planet, but I am but just one little man, trying his hardest to put together something that will enrich you as a music listener and a reader of this blog. Either that or I’ve just been incredibly lazy and procrastinating putting the final touches on this thing, along with listening to more albums with thoughts of “ooh should this be in my list instead of so and so?” It never ends.

Music in 2024 felt good overall, albeit I was decently checked out for a good portion of it. Plus the tension in the world is at an all-time high. I feel like this comes through in some of my choices later on in my list, but for the most part the records you’ll find below are in line with my Warm Visions taste. Familiar faces abound, along with some inspiring newcomers and juicy surprises (what the surprises are… I’m not quite sure yet). You’ll find the album art, “Warm Visions Description”, a little music writer-esque blurb, and a streaming link. You can also click the album art to be taken to that artist’s Bandcamp page, if they have one.

OK let’s go! Happy 2024! Let it end please!

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Recommended Albums: November 2024

Winding down 2024’s Recommended Albums (usually I don’t have the effort / material to dive into December’s albums, but we’ll see!), we shove the year off into the mist with some mighty solid records. I’d be remiss not to shout out The Cure first, returning after almost two decades and making one of their best albums in a while. We’ve also got two Various Artists projects, some wistful pop and folk, a little experimental ambient and modern classical… a good slate of records in November. A solid November month too – nothing TOO too big, but a cushion of goodness to sit upon as we ponder the best of the year.

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Recommended Albums: October 2024

Not as late this time! And hey – Recommended Albums of October 2024 had a good reason for being delayed. Unless I miscounted (very likely), I’m featuring 17 albums below. That’s a good amount! And there were still more records from last month that I’ve been meaning to listen to, and would probably find their way on this list if I had! But this has been delayed enough as is! 17 is good enough for you, you voracious animals!

Some really incredible records below, though. At least four on here I’ve absolutely rinsed on walks around the city: Caribou, Confidence Man, Kelly Lee Owens & Two Shell. The classic electronic record to blast to inject some pep into step. Also just some shocking beauty, some much-needed follow-ups, and a key various artists compilation from Music From Memory, a label that has been rising QUICKLY in labels I just love anything and everything from. Elite.

Best of 2024 season is quickly approaching! Hoping to get all that stuff to you in a timely manner. Thanks for reading!

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Recommended Albums: September 2024

Another late Recommended Albums post, but this one has a pretty good excuse. September 2024 was absolutely loaded with fantastic records. 15 LPs are listed below, and there were even more that I liked enough to consider for more spots. This was a blast to put together, with some heavy-hitters that are very likely going to feature in primo spots on my Best Albums of 2024 list. Take a listen to samples of 15 records below, and hope you love them!

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Recommended Albums: August 2024

Earlier this year I had commented on how the Recommended Albums of June 2024 was the latest post in Warm Visions history. I had to outdo myself in terms of lateness and get the August post out in deep October, when we’re all thinking about August. Looking back, August feels like a black hole in my memory. A void where activities assuredly took place, yet I have little to no memory. Concerts were at a minimum too, but did include highlights like Winged Wheel, Tirzah and Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul.

Getting into the music of August, there were some heavy hitters like the Fontaines D.C. + SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE records. The Belong album was also a nice return, among other quality records filling in the crowd below. I’ve had a description written for the Belong record for months now but the rest of them have been sitting empty. Might as well get this post out since it’s clear these other descriptions aren’t getting written. Alas. Enjoy this ancient music.

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