5 New Releases You Need to Hear Right Now [March 2025]
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It’s already time for another installment of my new release rundown, a monthly column here at the Best Music of All Time newsletter.
These posts showcase recent releases I’ve been spinning and loving for the past month or so. This edition includes lots of exceptional alternative material culled from the hip-hop, rock, and electronic scenes.
If you want a curated list of recent albums to enjoy, hit that subscribe button to get this and other posts delivered right to your inbox.
Let’s dive in!
1. “Life is Beautiful” by Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist
Genre: Alternative, Hip-Hop, Jazz Fusion
Label: ALC
Release Date: February 7, 2025
Vibe: 🌊
There’s a misconception out there that “real” gangsta rap is all aggression and booming, blunted bass. Not so. Sometimes, the coolest, most confident hip-hop comes from collaborations that prize luxurious, nonchalant vibes over everything else. If you’re into that strain of rap music, then Life is Beautiful, the latest link-up between genre veterans Larry June, 2 Chainz, and the Alchemist should be added to your listening queue.
Supported by the latter’s typically lush, dreamy production, there’s nothing fussy or overwrought about the rhymes here. Both June and the man formerly known as Tity Boi come through with hazy braggadocio that’s as serene and stylish as a billionaire’s yacht anchored off the coast of a private island. The trio seems odd on paper—one that shouldn’t work—but they manage to coexist harmoniously. Sit back, relax, and bask in its effortless glow.
2. “Showbiz!” by MIKE
Genre: Alternative, Hip-Hop
Label: 10k
Release Date: January 31, 2025
Vibe: 🥹
I’ve praised Brooklyn native MIKE in this newsletter before as an up-and-coming emcee to watch. But there’s something about hearing a new record from an artist who’s putting it all together after showing great promise. That’s what the rapper does on his latest LP, a surprisingly spiritual look at life on the road and what it means to try and find your way back home.
What impresses me most about MIKE’s impressive run this decade is how laser-focused his writing and production choices are, despite how freewheeling and improvisational they may sound. Tracks like “When we could be free..” and “man in the mirror” turn soul samples and snippets of dialogue into powerful textural elements, connecting the rapper’s past growth to his bright future as one of the leading voices from New York’s burgeoning underground scene. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
3. “Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory” by Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Genre: Alternative, Rock
Label: Jagjaguwar
Release Date: February 7, 2025
Vibe: 🤘
The product of jam sessions including Van Etten and bandmates Jorge Balbi, Devra Hoff, and Teeny Lieberson, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory is an LP that fans of various 90s alternative subgenres will gleefully eat up. The first side, in particular, foregrounds plenty of shoegaze and indie elements that will have many listeners pining for a specific era of rock radio that felt more vibrant and alive.
That said, it’s the second, more experimental half of this record that shines the brightest. From the new wave-ish “Somethin’ Ain’t Right” to the staggering, haunting beauty of “Fading Beauty,” it’s a testament to Van Etten’s willingness to change it up aesthetically, eight albums and more than a decade into her career. It’s a gem that’s full of surprises, even for her most ardent supporters.
4. “Mapambazuko” by Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta
Genre: Electronic, Experimental
Label: Nyege Nyege Tapes
Release Date: January 24, 2025
Vibe: 🍑
Do genres matter anymore? Do they actually serve a purpose when it comes to framing listener expectations, or are they increasingly limiting horizons instead of expanding them? That was one of the questions that came to mind when listening to Mapambazuko, the wonderfully chaotic collision of sounds from Peruvian electronic artist Alejandra Cárdenas (aka Ale Hop) and Congolese guitarist Titi Bakorta.
To that end, I hesitate to pigeonhole this record into a specific sonic profile or two, partly because to do so would be to tell only a partial truth. What I will say is that this album pushes the envelope of what you can do with an electronic R&B/dance album. The messiness of its construction, smashing different elements together with reckless abandon, is a feature, not a bug. The resulting listen is nothing short of exhilarating.
5. “Heal” by Pavel Milyakov & Lucas Dupuy
Genre: Electronic, Ambient, Drone
Label: PSY X Records
Release Date: January 1, 2025
Vibe: 🎞️
Heal, a collaboration between Berlin-based ambient electronic musician Pavel Milyakov (known to some by his nom de plume, Buttechno) and avant-garde artist Lucas Dupuy, is an album that’s best enjoyed if you let it wash over you. Heavy on airy synths, scattered drums, and melt-in-your-mouth white noise tones, this is ambient electronica at its most meditative and, in some ways, mysterious.
As with many great LPs in this space, the magic lies in how the pieces fit together, like the monochromatic parts of a jigsaw puzzle. Listen for the soothing marimba on “deep gtr,” the wobbling synth runs on “air X,” and the cosmic beauty of closer “end,” a track that, across its 18-minute runtime, stretched out into some cinematic horizon point that it never quite got to. It’s like a Hans Zimmer film score repurposed as an abstract installation piece, and I couldn’t get enough.
Which new releases have you had in heavy rotation recently? Drop those recommendations in the comments!
OK! New is good. Keep 'em coming.