Monthly Music Recap: August ‘25
It’s hard to beat August 2024. Amidst the cultural phenomenon that was Brat Summer, the month gave us year-defining releases like Magdalena Bay’s Imaginal Disk, Fontaines D.C.’s Romance and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet.
Yet 365 days and another Sabrina album later, August 2025 saw an avalanche of stellar new releases in every genre. Zooming in on the indie, alternative and rock scenes, here are some of Off The Record’s end of summer ear worms.
Wolf Alice is charmingly timeless in new album
With every album announcement by an artist I follow, I can usually tell off the bat which will stick with me more than others. This summer’s highly anticipated releases like Lorde’s Virgin and Wet Leg’s moisturizer certainly came through, but it’s records like Wolf Alice’s The Clearing that were the unexpected heroes of New Music Fridays.
While the album is steadfastly about embracing your truth, the delivery transforms with each of its 11 songs. Among the sonically diverse track list is “Leaning Against The Wall,” an understated anthem that invokes the best of its influences. Sharing an album with songs that pack the punch of glam rock or dream pop, “Leaning Against The Wall” might not stick with you on first listen, but its gentle grit makes it one of the most striking moments on the record. The four-minute song sees front woman Ellie Rowsell singing with the ferventness of Stevie Nicks, backed by the homey sound of Mazzy Star-like acoustics and topped with a quintessentially Wolf Alice musical build and release. Lyrically, Rowsell charmingly relays the feeling of trying — and failing — to be nonchalant when presented with a face of your past: “I dance so you will watch me / That doesn't hurt my pride / I like the thrill of my performing / When I abuse the courage of white wine.” Besides her satisfying lilt, the candor of Rowsell’s lyrics make listeners feel like friends sitting in on a post-outing debrief.
So though The Clearing was not the album I expected to carry me through the end of summer, it was just the album I needed — and the one you probably do too.
Nourished by Time makes his case for love on sophomore album
It’s a common musical phenomenon that an artist’s sophomore album can make or break them. Iconic acts like Nirvana, Adele and Tears For Fears dropped second records that cemented their careers in history and made them household names. For genre-blending visionary Marcus Brown, who goes by the stage name Nourished by Time, his sophomore album might just add him to that list of take-two breakout stars. The Passionate Ones is a self-written, recorded and produced argument for, well, passion, in an increasingly desensitized society.
The album’s opening track, “Automatic Love,” introduces listeners to Brown’s world of off-kiltered beats, infectious grooves and sideways love songs. The song opens with an alien-like eeriness, its layered synths placing the album in a dystopian landscape and setting the scene for Brown’s dissertation on the need to feel big things. When the curtain lifts with the entrance of a steady drumbeat and Brown’s forward vocals, the song gains a sort of ethereal quality that makes it impossible not to bob your head along. Lyrically, Brown puts his heart on his sleeve and begs listeners to do the same: “Please be careful with my organ / She's not well put together / Yeah, I can't wait for you to love me / 'Cause girl, I already do,” Brown pleads in the first verse before singing, “Automatic love / Oh, do you wanna feel alive again?” in the chorus.
With mesmerizing loops and profound reflections on the state of the world, The Passionate Ones is a gripping listen from top to bottom and the product of a generational talent like Nourished by Time.
Hayley Williams is “the biggest star” in surprise singles
Watch the music video for “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” on YouTube.
The last time Paramore front woman Hayley Williams dropped a solo album, the COVID-19 pandemic was still under a year old and teenagers were painting their bedrooms cow print. Four and a half years and one hundred micro-trends later, Williams surprised fans with 17 introspective singles, re-released as an album with an additional track three weeks later to tie up the project with a bow. From melancholic reflections on depression to playful takes on love, the 18-part project is quintessentially Hayley Williams.
Amid the bangers is “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party,” a standout track that is as addicting as it is witty. Williams almost deceives listeners at the beginning, as the song opens with a somber piano progression before a driving drum beat and spacey guitars enter. The instrumentation parallels the songwriting; even though Williams is telling a story of failed dreams, her lyrics and delivery are anything but ballad-like. “I'll be the biggest star at this racist country singer's bar / No use shootin' for the moon, no use chasing waterfalls,” she drawls, for instance, immediately setting a quick-witted sort of self-deprecating tone. Yet, the song is still chock-full of Williams’s poetic motifs, like when she sings, “Got too big for my britches / Too big for my fishes / The sea got shallower every day / I danced, I said my prayers, it never rained” in the bridge.
Whether it’s on her own or backed by the members of Paramore, Hayley Williams has long been a force to be reckoned with in the alternative world, and the 18 new songs in her discography do nothing but further cement her synonymity with millennial and Gen Z music.
The Nancys are breaking through and “walking out” in new single
Following the release of their debut EP in May, up-and-coming trio The Nancys are back and serving up tender angst in their new single, “Walking Out.” The group of current and former University of Florida students hit their stride in the local Gainesville scene last year, and have since travelled to ears around Florida and beyond, as evidenced by my non-Floridian affinity for them. In “Walking Out,” the band expands upon the classic indie rock sound they’ve found their home in.
What starts as a gentle tune with acoustic finger picking and the steady tap of a hi-hat quickly evolves into double time rocker with enough emotion to soundtrack your early 20s feels. “Kill me like a habit / Spill your drink all on the chaise / Meeting in the bathroom / Never seen a brighter gray,” lead vocalist Ella Norris sings in the pre-chorus as the steadily intensifying guitar and drum beats build tension that finally gets released in a cathartic chorus. Norris’s voice is like velvet with a bit of an edge, matching the band’s perfectly raw sound. A killer solo by guitarist Theo Lorenzen carries the grit through the bridge, while drummer Shane Barrera’s cymbal-heavy half time groove in the final chorus is the cherry on top.
With upcoming shows throughout Florida and two nights in New York City, The Nancys are a band bound to make their mark, so claim your early fan status now.
Staff Picks:
Brooke’s Honorable Mentions:
“4:25” by Balu Brigada
“The Train (King’s Cross)” by Blood Orange and Caroline Polacheck
Cece Faulkner - “spine” by Maggie Lindemann
Jack Kolpitcke - “Upset & Aggressive” by Dominic Fike
Madison Avery - “Specter” by Bad Omens
Jackie Fortis - “Low” by Hut
Alex Stefan - “Los Angeles” by Thousand Below
Athena Galatis - “Yamaha” by Dijon
Ana Marks - “Vampire Teeth” by CARR
Tabita Bernardus - “SUPERMODEL” by LAUNDRY DAY
Check out some of our August coverage!
Live Shows:
“The combination of the band’s heartfelt performance, the intimate setting and the joyful chaos of a summer night made it clear this was one of those rare concerts you talk about for years. Not just because of who was on stage, but because of how it felt to be there.” - Chloe Henna on Caamp in Tacoma
“Lydia Night is not just stepping back into the spotlight; she’s ripping it down, repurposing it, and making it her own. Los Angeles just witnessed the birth of its newest pop princess, and she’s doing it on her own way.” - Makenna Cordiano on Lydia Night in Los Angeles
New Music Reviews:
“It’s clear how much love and passion was poured into every fiber of this work, making the album one of the strongest testaments to his craft throughout his entire career.” - Logan Goettemoeller on Quadeca’s Vanisher, Horizon Scraper
“Baby feels like Dijon at his most complete. It’s not a singular mood, but a spectrum, presenting the full range of what it means to love and to be loved. The dedication coexists with his doubts, and the accountability goes hand-in-hand with joy and companionship. It’s overflowing with euphoric releases, and more than anything it’s a collection of musical ecstasy. Sublime in sound, but rooted in quiet truths and contentment.” - Reegan-Tate Johnson on Dijon’s Baby
“This is the sound of an artist who knows exactly where he thrives, and instead of reinventing the wheel, he perfects it. Across twelve tracks, Wishbone unfolds like a diary charting the arc of a relationship—from its giddy beginnings to its bitter collapse—rendered with Gray’s trademark blend of vulnerability, cinematic detail, and melodies that lodge themselves in your head.” - Arna Churiwala on Conan Gray’s Wishbone
“Who’s the Clown? is a refreshing dose of individuality and creativity at a time when people are searching for meaning and passion in a black hole that is the digital age. Hobert inspires listeners to discover who they are, embrace their whims, and fight for their dreams no matter what.” - Sullivan Jordan on Audrey Hobert’s Who’s the Clown?
“With irreplaceable chemistry, a fearless approach to the highs and lows of love, and the ability to transform a simple moment into a profound memory through their sonic arrangements, hickey forces its listeners to experience love’s cutting edge.” - Tabita Bernardus on Royel Otis’s hickey
Interviews:
“This album is, I would actually say, the most imperfect album or project we've ever done, but I think that's why it's the coolest thing because it sounds so real.” - Bardo Novotny of Beauty School Dropout in an interview with Emma Hug Rosenstein