Local Music Singles Roundup: December 2025
Local Music Reviews
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Well, it’s kind of hard with the batshit year we’ve had! As we ring in the New Year, it’s time to make a toast! Let’s sink ourselves into a musical medley of rock, pop, lo-fi or whatever 2025 has bestowed upon us in this edition of SLUG’s Local Music Singles Roundup.
Always Her
“Timeless”
Self-Released
Street: 01.31.2025
Always Her = The Backseat Lovers x Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18”
When I heard the opening lines to “Timeless,” I buckled myself in for a slow ride. However, the speed accelerated when the instrumentals finally kicked in after the first 30 seconds. This variation kept me invested. The music comes in waves, from twangy guitar riffs that make you want to move around to subdued bass and drums perfect for holding your lover close. In this song, Always Her compares their muse to clichés like an art gallery or the sun. These are comparisons I’ve heard time and time again — a bit overused, but perhaps rightfully so due to that timeless nature they capture so well. The song ends on the same slow note it begins, with about 40 seconds of barely audible instrumentals following the conclusion of the lyrics. While this song might not be metaphorically revolutionary, it is a warm, familiar, alt-rock take on a classic love song. —Braxtyn Birrell
Distant Lands
“Azimuth”
Self-Released
Street: 10.06.2025
Azimuth = Hail The Sun + (early Genghis Tron – grindcore)
The newest track by metalcore band Distant Lands, “Azimuth” is a tight, fast, four-minute journey. “Azimuth” gives flashes of Genghis Tron, with glitchy and pounding electronic drums matching cyclic, hypnotic guitar lines. It’s polyrhythmic and anxious, as vast and unflinching as the West Desert. It’s the type of music that feels like the soundtrack to a science-fiction adventure, battling across the barren wastes. The verses are high gutturals, growling and grinding over the song in typical metalcore fashion. The choruses feature soaring clean vocals (think metalcore, think Hail The Sun). Though it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, the singing feels cathartic, the necessary unwinding of the song’s ratcheting tension. If you’re a core kid, you’ll dig it — it’s angry but not aggro, it slams, it stomps and it has a nasty, spacey, synth-laden breakdown in the final leg if you want to bang your head slowly. —tín Rodriguez
Glory Trip
“The Voyage”
Self-Released
Street: 04.11.2025
Glory Trip = The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion x Ritchie Blackmore era Deep Purple
Glory Trip released “The Voyage” last April, a single promoting their latest EP, Aquamation. I’ve really grown to enjoy the track in my time with it. The best way I could describe the sound here is if you took a Cretan laouto player, gave him a Telecaster and dropped him into The Strokes. It’s a very creative blend of contemporary rock and traditional Eastern European music. A fun listen for fans of garage rock itching for more melodic textures and driving beats. I can’t help but be reminded of the salty air of the ocean when hearing “The Voyage.” They say smooth seas don’t make skillful sailors, and that sentiment is invoked in this track to great success. Glory Trip’s “The Voyage” and their latest EP, Aquamation, are available on all streaming platforms. —Ezra Smith
Josaleigh Pollett
“Radio Player”
Audio Antihero
Street: 10.28.2025
Josaleigh Pollett = Lizzy McAlpine + Josephine Illingworth + Air
Between the gentle plucking of strings and electric buzzing, I could see myself swimming in the static of an indie coming-of-age film while listening to Josaleigh Pollett’s “Radio Player.” At its heart, the artist’s latest single plays as a melancholic ballad — with Pollett’s powerful vocals hinged with a poetic tremble — but by the end of the first verse, she diverts your songbird expectations with synthetic sounds tucked behind string instruments. Through these breaths of techno air, working in tandem with her ghostly lyricism, she invites the listener into her memory and offers a space for personal reflection. It is immersive and cinematic, but as it fizzles out into a haunting silence, you might find yourself quietly sitting in the middle of a field (after dramatically running through the rain) with “Radio Player” echoing in your head for hours. —Madi Madrid
King Niko
“Never Too Much”
Self-Released
Street: 09.26.2025
King Niko = Des’ree + Brendon Urie
For a moment, I thought I was still shuffling my “mmm yeah” playlist when listening to the intro of King Niko’s “Never Too Much.” The chipper and bright synth in the intro sounds almost identical to “You Gotta Be” by ‘90s R&B princess Des’ree. But when the Brendon Urie-style vocals came in, I knew: This is some good ol’ fashioned Provo pop! “Never Too Much” is quite different from the band’s other releases, which sound like what your elderly neighbor across the street would call “edgy.” Rather, this is a classic poppy love song, which is basically spelled out for us in the chorus: “You don’t have to stop falling in love / You could keep on falling in love.” Overall, the track has a catchy tune that is easy to sing along to at a show and lyrics that might tug at your heartstrings. —Hazel Paul
Molotov Dress
“Tomcat Hairloss”
Self-Released
Street: 10.31.2025
Molotov Dress = The Clash + Oingo Boingo
Molotov Dress and their latest single are for the self-professed weirdos out there. This song is a kooky ensemble of jangly guitar, British pub-chanting background vocals, honking horn and screamed lyrics that sounds like three different songs are all being played on top of each other. It’s a cacophony, but it’s done with such fun that it becomes extremely danceable and groovy. It does change up towards the end, as the band pivots to a slower bar, sing-a-long style, before exploding back with one last drum kit slam and an intense wall of noise to end the song off. So put on your dancing pants, wear your funkiest jacket and do your hair up real big so you can properly dance along to this bizarre and incredible song. —Connor Kraus
Read more of SLUG‘s Local Music Singles Roundup:
Local Music Singles Roundup: November 2025
Local Music Singles Roundup: October 2025
