Monthly Music Recap: November ‘25
As witches were traded for wreaths — because who decorates for Thanksgiving, anyways? — November saw the influx of Christmas song streams and knew what needed to be done.
Ahead of the December new music drought, artists across the indie spectrum delivered one last push for fresh tunes in 2025. From cozy to biting and soft to punchy, there was no shortage of head-bangers and hip-swayers gracing the New Music Friday playlists of November.
Hana Eid dives headfirst into soul-searching on debut album
In a world of Spotify algorithms and communities of music lovers on social media, the possibilities for new music discovery are endless. But because of this and humankind’s collective dwindling attention span, artists only have so much time to hook new listeners. Rising indie rock and folk artist Hana Eid clearly knew this to be true and mastered the art of making ears perk up on her debut LP, Trains Running Backwards.
There’s album openers, and then there’s musical statements of objectives — Eid’s “Headfirst” is the latter. The opening track starts with a solo Eid singing, “I just wanna feel it / I just wanna know it’s here,” a cappella, before a guns-a-blazing full band entrance smashes any expectation of demureness, forcing listeners to, indeed, “feel it.” The rest of the track is a classic act of tension-building and releasing in the verses and choruses, respectively, with Eid’s twang-tinged relaxed inflection effortlessly juxtaposing the guitar and drums driving beneath her. “I feel so frustrated and baby doesn’t want me to / It’s something I always knew,” Eid lilts as the track’s final lyrics, her resignation giving way to a raucous outro that culminates in a peaceful keyboard line that doesn’t quite resolve, perfectly transitioning to one of the folkier tracks on the record.
In an interview with OTR contributor Amesha Tiwari earlier this month, Eid said some of her biggest influences are Wednesday and Big Thief, and “Headfirst” — along with the rest of Trains Running Backwards — certainly feels like if those two bands had a baby. It’s vulnerable, poetic and gritty in every sense of the words.
moondoggy is “Still Not There” in first track since sophomore album
Despite being from Toronto, moondoggy has been bringing the sound of heartland rock to Hogland and beyond since 2023. Steeped in passion and soul, the five-piece’s sound is simultaneously laborious and a sigh of relief, their sax-infused and guitar heavy melodies becoming a hallmark of their brand. Now, with the release of single “Still Not There,” moondoggy is meeting the chill in the air with a bite.
A lower register guitar melody is at the forefront of “Still Not There,” setting a sort of brooding tone for the three-minute track as vocalist Jakob Matanowitsch sings of an inability to be 100% present: “I'll be home in one week … I'll be gone, just as fast / So please just try to make it last.” The track’s dense production feels up close and personal, as if listeners are in a wood-walled cabin, the brief interjections of snare and cymbal hits immediately dampened by the guitar’s persistence. Evoking the indie rock jams of their previous two LPs, “Still Not There” is the quintessential campfire track to add some groove to a cozy winter night.
Having hinted at some 2026 tour dates in an Instagram comment, the single is hopefully the first of a handful of new releases for moondoggy.
Searows captures the calm amidst the storm in “Photograph of a Cyclone”
Watch the music video for “Photograph of a Cyclone” on YouTube.
As we head into peak indie folk season, resident gut-wrencher Searows is back to soundtrack those early winter blues. “Photograph of a Cyclone” is the second single from the 25-year-old singers-songwriter’s upcoming sophomore album, Death in the Business of Whaling.
Alec Duckart, the voice behind the stage name, said the track is about seeing chaos “in your periphery and not knowing what else to do but watch it happen.” Though acoustic-centric at its core, “Photograph of a Cyclone” embodies this description, with the overlapping guitar lines and harmonic backing vocals becoming all encompassing, as if placing listeners in the middle of a gentle storm. A wordsmith first and foremost, Duckart’s lyrical imagery is up to par with singer-songwriter big shots like Phoebe Bridgers and Adrianne Lenker: “Photograph of a cyclone / A spirit moving cycles / Masterpiece destroyer of what's in front of me,” he warbles in the second verse, capturing the beauty in juxtaposition.
The track is as comforting as it is disquieting, and if that’s not the perfect metaphor for the Searows’s artistry, then I don’t know what is.
Fake Dad faces LA’s demons in new single
LA-based duo Fake Dad lives in the center of the pop-rock tristate area. Whether it’s a track bordering dream pop, indie rock or pop-punk, you can be sure Andrea de Varona and Josh Ford are going to deliver a fiery melody and a good time. On their latest single, “Demonology,” the duo jumps over the dream pop fence and digs into music industry truths.
After the track’s main guitar line is introduced, listeners are thrown to the past with a ‘90s-esque distorted breakbeat and reverbed vocals, as if the song is coming to you via a filter. Besides simply being a fun, sway-inducing track, de Verona said “Demonology” is an ode to the manufactured beef between ‘90s alternative icons Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna. “The song is about learning to empathize with the other women and non-males in my space, realizing we’re not so different,” she said. The track’s chorus critiques pop culture’s need to pit women against each other as de Varona sings, “You wanna be pretty? / You wanna be evil? / Put on that celebrity skin.”
For a band just coming off a March debut album and preparing for an early 2026 EP release, Fake Dad is certainly finding their space in the pop-rock world.
Staff Picks:
Madelyn Aiken - “Stranger to love” by dexter in the newsagent
Logan Goettemoeller - “HARD” by FKA twigs
Eva Elisa Wells - “I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again” by 5 Seconds of Summer
Harmony Robinson - “White Keys” by Dominic Fike
Jane Flautt - “What’s Next” by Rum Jungle
Riley Hilbert - “Rule 31” by Radio Free Alice
Mitchell Stewart - “This Is The World (I Made It For You)” by Magdalena Bay
Daisy Calderon Arredondo - “Vampire” by Oliver Hazard
Caroline Goldschmitt - “You got time and I got money - VVTZJ EDIT” by Smerz, Clairo and VVTZJ
McKenzie Blasi - “Stressor” by hallpass
Check out some of our November coverage!
Live Shows:
“Perhaps the most poignant moment of the night came when Nanna and Ragnar were joined by the rest of the band, their voices weaving together in a stunning multi-part harmony on ‘Mouse Parade.’ The energy was gentle, unexpected, and deeply evocative.” - Siri Kodu on Of Monster and Men in Brooklyn
“I’ve always said that audiences feed off of energy, and vice versa, but this was truly a show where the band and the crowd worked in tandem to make the night unforgettable.” - Sophia Bianco on The Band CAMINO in St. Louis
“Playful and exciting to watch, their connection to their audience is different from most; there is a level of trust within the spaces they create with their music.” - Mia Barić on Die Spitz in New York City
New Music Reviews:
“Von Hausswolff’s mastery of composing is enough to tune in to the album. The soul-stirring lyrics and deeply moving features are enough to return it.” - Mitchell Stewart on Anna Von Hausswolff’s ICONOCLASTS
“With Small Talk, Whitney has created the perfect album for colder days and darker nights, when, standing outside, you feel the sharp edge of winter through your coat but know that somewhere, there is warmth waiting.” - Jane Flautt on Whitney’s Small Talk
“The song struck a chord in different ways for different people; feeling seen, empowered, and even enlightened. It is lyrical mastery and can be interpreted in multitudes of ways, and that’s the beauty of it.” - Jackie Fortis on Annabelle Dinda’s “The Hand”
Interviews:
“Writing songs, for me, is like baking. Writing stories is like cooking. One is precise, scientific, the proportions, the rhythm, the emotional balance all have to click just right. The other is instinctual and so much messier.” - Laura Pieri in an interview with Alex Stefan
“Going across the country, going to a different time zone and hearing people feel so passionately and sing words that I wrote back to me, it’s just like… when people are starstruck at me, I feel starstruck back.” - Buboy in an interview with Ben Robinson