85. Fog - Fogesque
The first of a three-part series of albums from dream-pop band Fog stands out for being the band's brightest, dare we even say sunniest release. Everything Fog does feels like a dream, but on Fogesque, it's like one of them nice fuzzy dreams that put you in a great mood.
84. Bye Bye Badman - Light Beside You
Bye Bye Badman's Light Beside You is the sound of four high school friends coming together to create music based on their mutual love of Britpop and baggy. Whilst each member would go on to find success with other bands (and with their own highly anticipated reunion in 2025), it's nice to see where it all started for them. It's an earnest tribute to their influences, but the band bring plenty of big tunes to back it up.
83. Sultans of the Disco - The Golden Age
The Golden Age is an album from funky supergroup, Sultans of the Disco, which pays homage to what the band considers to be the golden age of music - the time when disco, funk, and soul reigned supreme. Whilst the tongue is firmly in cheek, The Golden Age is so undeniably fun, full of floor-filling disco jams.
82. Mongoose - Dancing Zoo
Released in 2005, Dancing Zoo is Mongoose's attempt to stand against "the notion that rock is a man's music". It's a disarmingly playful album, with its funness obscuring the band's high technical musicality. Dancing Zoo is joyous, indie/synth pop oozing with DIY charm.
81. Flash Flood Darlings - Vorab and Tesoro
Jay Song’s solo project, Flash Flood Darling, was his attempt to use his music to explore his feelings and his personal struggles. On critically acclaimed debut, Vorab and Tesoro, he used his ethereal dream-pop electronica to create songs about growing up in a foreign land and discovering his sexual identity. It’s a gorgeously pensive album that feels nostalgic and deeply emotional.
80. Broccoli, You Too? - No More Encore
Broccoli, You Too?'s No More Encore is a bittersweet goodbye to youth. It's an album that turns exhaustion, love, and everyday melancholy into something quietly exciting. Their blend of jangly guitars, warm brass, and conversational vocals captures the ache of growing older without losing sincerity.
79. 꿈에 카메라를 가져올걸 - 소실
With its hazy guitars, drifting vocals, and a knack for pop-centric hooks, 소실 is a beautiful and occasionally devastating album. Mixing shoegaze, post-rock and indie pop, 꿈에 카메라를 가져올걸 (translating to "I should have brought my camera to my dream") is a sublime and noisy debut.
78. Park Jiha - All Living Things
Life. Death. Everything between. Released this year, All Living Things is the fourth album from acclaimed Korean composer/multi-instrumentalist Park Jiha. Here, she perfects her style of lingering, immersive music that reflects the natural world's essence. Her mastery of traditional Korean instruments—piri (double-reeded oboe), saenghwang (free reed mouth organ), yanggeum (hammered dulcimer) is intricately woven with artistic compositions and incredible uniqueness.
77. eundohee - Unforeseen
Could have very easily included eundohee's excellent 2024 album, Blue Comedy, but we've chosen the darkly trip-hop-inspired Unforeseen. Unforeseen came from eundohee's severe depression and battles with mental illness, which is why it so effectively communicates sadness. It's a stirring, heartfelt, and deeply personal album about the darker thoughts that eundohee was experiencing at that time. Sometimes, it can be tricky to praise an album like this. It's an inspired collection, but you can't help but be glad that the artist has moved on - creatively and spiritually.
76. Clazziquai Project - Instant Pig
This hugely influential album is one that many say helped usher in the popularity of electronic music in Korea’s independent scene. Mixing together house, K-pop, and jazz elements, Instant Pig became an instant classic, gaining praise from critics and appearing in many adverts. The album still holds up for its unique blend of bubblegum pop and funky electronica.
75. Jowall - The Celebrate Nothing
In a way, this feels like an anti-celebration album. It’s a brutally emotional album that moves along at a slow pace. The gloomy mood of the album is underpinned by some incredibly beautiful and creative songwriting that feels like Radiohead making a shoegaze record. It’s a rich, darkly understated listen, just don’t put it on during a party.
74. Adoy - Vivid
After a series of much-loved EPs, Adoy released their first full-length album, Vivid, to huge commercial success. Vivid is a culmination of the band's work to that point, mixing together their indie pop sensibilities with the city pop sound they had become known for. The longer length of the album allowed the band to try some different styles, including the house-influenced "Porter" and the slowed-down "Swim".
73. Land and Peace - Life in Timog
Life in Timog is based around the band's time in the Philippines, where the members first met. The tropical rock style perfectly reflects what (we imagine) Filipino island life feels like. As well as being chill as fuck, there's also this really endearing, almost goofy charm to it. It's absorbing, lethargic, and incredibly listenable.
72. Achime - Hunch
The band's name (meaning morning) and their stated mission statement of "hoping everyone has a heart-warming experience" may slightly undersell this album. It's an excellent collection of indie rock songs that draw on the band's influence of math rock, dance punk, and jazz. Whilst there's lots of brightness on the album, there's also plenty of pathos, too.
71. Eastern Sidekick - The First
Despite the name, Eastern Sidekick's first full-length is a tribute to the band's western influences - namely, The Strokes and British indie of the 2010s. The band pretty successfully bring that same disaffected swagger and dancey rock tunes that inspire them.