The Best Of 2025: Tracks Of The Year

Words: Keira Oldfield/Jo Kendall

When LDN started putting together tracks of 2025 we could have filled a playlist with a 1000 bangers. But we’ve been restrained and chosen just 15, all for your pleasure. From Rosalia to Deftones, enjoy some sonic highlights from the outgoing 365 days.

Berghain – Rosalía

Partly sung in German, it’s absolute drama from the off with this Vivaldi-inspired tune that showcases Rosalía’s operatic vocal style, alongside contributions from the London Symphony Orchestra, Björk and Yves Tumor. It then moves into a creepy progressive pop style for a violent denouement that references a well-documented Mike Tyson meltdown. ¡Madre mía!

WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! – Raye

Bold and soulful, Raye’s musings on the search for someone to put a ring on it dropkicked Beyoncé’s ‘Crazy In Love‘ and Amerie’s ‘1 Thing‘ into a theatrical micro West Side Story anthem made for her modern Sarf London crew.

my mind is a mountain – Deftones

It’s five years on from their last LP, Ohms, and the Sacramento five-piece just get better (and bigger). This lead-off single from the well-received ‘private music’ album referenced an inner struggle with anxiety and mental health, the music mining familiar heavy territory – down-tuned and ominous but gauzy, soft and soaring with some sort of optimism, too.

West End Girl – Lily Allen

Derived from Allen’s comeback album of the same name, a concept album that felt like reading a diary of betrayal, the tale of ‘West End Girl’ – complete with clever one-sided phone convos to aid the narrative – has redefined the pre-eminent confessional British pop writer as both an artist and a human.

The Subway – Chappell Roan

‘The Subway’ quenched Chappell fans’ long-lasting thirst for new music, causing a mighty social media moment. An unlikely ballad from this artist that harked back to bands such as The Sundays and The Cranberries, it could be one of her most powerful songs yet.

Hunting Season – Biffy Clyro

Being in the public eye isn’t a bowl of cherries and Biffy frontman Simon Neil addresses that with ‘Hunting Season’, telling NME: “I feel like we’re all judged so much by people in the outside world who don’t know anything about us and that can be really scary.” The catchiest rock anthem about the threat of trolling, cancel-culture and misquotation we heard this year.

Raindance – Dave (feat. Tems)

Taken from Dave’s acclaimed Number One album, ‘The Boy Who Played The Harp’, this song was a change of tone for the songwriter-rapper who wanted to create a track that might be played at a wedding – it’s named after an iconic Boodles diamond ring. Featuring Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, this mellow track encapsulates the tenderness and intimacy of a first dance.

Hello Heaven, Hello – Yungblud

As Yungblud hit age 27 he understood his music had to evolve in order for him to last beyond his emo-pop-rap years. This was the first salvo, opening his chart-topping Idols album, a red-blooded and bombastic nine-minute suite inspired by Oasis, U2, Black Sabbath, The Who, Aerosmith and Def Leppard all in one song. His classic rock era had arrived.

Unravelling – Muse

Signposting a new album due out in 2026, the Brit rock trio went in hard with the single ‘Unravelling’ which took in eight-string djent chonk and gnarly electronica as well as Matt Bellamy’s trademark over-the-top vocal pyrotechnics. Powerful, confident stuff.

Catch These Fists – Wet Leg

Deadpan as hell, bleached-eyebrowed badass Rhian Teasdale breaks a light aerobic sweat over Hester Chambers’ minimal guitar scratch for the Isle Of Wight rockers’ return, a song that stares down potential lady-killers before grinding their romantic hopes into the dirt with the heel of a boxer boot.

Spike Island – Pulp

Returning with their first album in 24 years (!), the lead-off track was a reflective look back to the 1990, and an historic moment in indie history when Manc heroes The Stone Roses played to a sea of blissed-out working class ravers on a weird artificial isle near Widnes that was formerly a chemical factory. You can count on Jarvis Cocker for an intriguing tale, set to an indie disco beat.

Take A Sexy Picture Of Me – CMAT

The Irish pop-country star was rightfully everywhere in 2025, with this track a standout: a bubblegum-sounding protest anthem that highlights poignant issues of sexual desires and pressures in modern society, delivered with wit as well as pathos.

Parachute – Hayley Williams

Taken from the excellent ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ LP, it was a long-awaited return to solo music for Ms Williams. The tender Parachute spoke of heartbreak and vulnerability, Williams’ vocal emotional on the chorus ‘I thought that you were gonna catch me/I never stopped falling for you.’

NOT OK – 5 Seconds of Summer

After years of solo projects, the 5SOS boys overjoyed the fan girls with their return to being a group for the release of the album ‘EVERYONE’S A STAR!’. ‘NOT OK’ is its standout track, a bouncy banger with cheeky inspiration from The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’.

Nice To Each Other – Olivia Dean

Chorus guitar effect gave this dreamy tune a nostalgic, slightly Fleetwood Mac feel, the north Londoner’s lyrics speaking of a relationship that didn’t have to be formal or exclusive just yet, but encouraging maturity and warmth from both participants.