Daily Newsletter, December 12, 2025

The best albums of 2025, as picked by the editors and contributors of The FADER, featuring Tyler, the Creator's 'Don't Tap The Glass,' Bassvictim's 'Forever,' and more.

TikTok has become a key platform for music discovery. 

The Best Americana has never been better with the quality of music, diversity of styles, and the artists’ demographics in terms of race and gender.

Detailed and complicated songs of marital strife, super rhyming over a panopoly of speedy beats, an A+ Thelonius Monk compilation, and an ancient Ugandan instrument provides brand new kicks.

2025 was an odd one. The electronic music scene, at least a considerable part of it, reaffirmed its position as one of the most politically vocal cultural spheres. Amid the genocide in Gaza, political discourse about boycotts, Israeli artists and institutions partnering with the rogue state largely overshadowed conversations about new music. Global macropolitics were […]

NICK & JUNE NEW YEAR’S FACE INDEPENDENT It has been something like two years since we last heard from Berlin duo Nick & June. This time, they have gone to the United States to record an album, one that adds new touches to their wide-eyed cinematic sound that they previously did so well; 30 million […]

Essentially, Blanos does take control of this album, keeping the fusion flame alive and well.

Nate Amos might be an actual genius.  The NYC-based musician has been humbly but voluminously demonstrating his talents for years, piling up records across a range of aliases for some of the best labels in independent music. He partnered with Rachel Brown to make deadpan mad-scientist avant-pop in Water From Your Eyes and ended up…

From Badfinger to XTC, these bands had enough magic to conquer the world - but there was always a chink in their armour

One of the most bootlegged dance tracks of all time, Satisfaction Skank, gets an official release.

The FADER's weekly roundup of the best new songs right now including "Music Baby" from Jane Remover, "Star" from Pretty Sick, "Glitter" from Eli, and more.

From psychedelic grooves to minimalist pulses and stadium-shaking riffs, these are the basslines that have shaped rock music from the 1960s to today

We found out the favourite 2025 books of 35 expert readers – and the Books & Ideas team shares our own picks, too.

As we wind down the year, in a new split series Mixtape, we look back at some of our favourite music releases of 2025, including Big Thief, Varo, Eve Adams, Lisa Knapp & Gerry Diver, Cynefin and many more.