RELICS CREW 2025 FAVES !!

Posted on January 01, 2026 by Irene Hundleby

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026 !!

RELICS CREW 2025 FAVES

Every NEW YEAR it's tradition for each of our crew to share the albums each of us have loved throughout the year - these may be brand new releases, old albums found for the first time, or pre-loved (re)discoveries... We have a diverse crew with diverse tastes in music... may our finds help you discover an album or two that inspires you as well!

Feel free to ask us about albums or to have a chat in store or online to learn more...

ALAN

J. MASCIS: WHAT WE DO NOW (2024) Garage Rock, Alt

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE: WELD (1991) Rock, Country Rock

YO LA TENGO: OLD JOY (2006) Soundtrack, American Indie Rock

J. MASCIS: TIED TO A STAR (2014) Garage Rock, Alt

FREYA

NIN: TRON:ARES OST (2025) Score, Industrial, Electronic

MESSA: THE SPIN (2025) Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Experimental Metal

FAETOOTH: LABYRINTHINE (2025) Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal

ETHEL CAIN: WILLOUGHBY TUCKER, I'll ALWAYS LOVE YOU (2025) Shoegaze, Bedroom Pop, Alt

MANSUR BROWN: RIHLA (2025) London New Jazz, Electronic, Wicked Lead Guitar

GEORGE

DEERHOOF: NOBLE AND GODLIKE IN RUIN (2025) Experimental, Noise Rock, Indie Rock

TROPICAL FUCK STORM: FAIRYLAND CODEX (2025) Art Punk, Psych Pop, Experimental

OSEES: LIVE AT THE BROAD (2025) Garage Rock, Psych Rock, Krautrock

I LIKE TO SLEEP: SPECTRAL VIBES (2025) Jazz, Prog Rock

SWANS: BIRTHING (2025) Alternative, Indie

JAKIRA

YASMIN LACEY: VOICE NOTES (2023) Funk, Soul

DOECHII: ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL (2024) Hip Hop

NAI PALM: NEEDLE PAW (2017) Funk, Soul

YUSSEF DAYES: BLACK CLASSICAL MUSIC (2023) Contemporary Jazz, Afrobeat, Jazz-Funk

THERE'S A TUESDAY: BLUSH (2025) Indie Pop, Indie Rock

TIM

THE DREAM SYNDICATE: MEDICINE SHOW (1984) Alternative Rock

Okay, so it's 40 years old but after years of living with a murky sounding CD, this 4 disc version with masses of live stuff was a revelation. 5 live versions of John Coltrane Stereo Blues?! Why not. And the last 4 Dream Syndicate albums since they reformed are all full of great moments.

THE CHILLS: SPRINGBOARD, THE EARLY UNRECORDED SONGS (2025) Indie Pop-Rock, Jangle Pop, Dunedin Sound

A beautiful parting gift from Martin and a testament to his lifelong gift for timeless hooks and melodies. Thanks Martin.

ALAN SPARHAWK WITH TRAMPLED BY TURTLES (2025) Folk, Bluegrass, Indie-Folk, Alt-Country

His first post-Low album relied heavily on autotune but here the backing band are fellow Minnesotans, a bluegrass outfit with a truly excellent name. The results are emotional and cathartic without being overwrought. And both Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles are from Duluth, which brings us to Robert Zimmerman...

BOB DYLAN: THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW, THE BOOTLEG SERIES, VOL. 18 1956-1963 (2025) Folk

The 18th instalment in the (one can dream) never-ending Bob Dylan bootleg series takes 8 Cds to tell the story of his rise from rock'n'roll obsessed teenager to the poet of New York and voice of the 60s. It's an epic undertaking and not one to try and unpack all at once.

MICHAEL HURLEY: BROKEN HOMES AND GARDENS (2025) Folk

This was probably the album I listened to most in 2025, released a few months after his death in April. As accessible as outsider folk gets, homespun and tender but never sentimental. If you can find his first couple of albums on Warner Brothers from the early 70s they are genuine lost classics and deserve to be heard.

I also really enjoyed Joan as Police Woman with Tony Allen and Dave Okumu (The Solution is Restless), Panda Bear Sinister Grift and Bon Iver's Sable, Fable. And heaps of others. So much great music, hard to know where to stop...

DAVE

ORANSSI PAZUZU - MUUNTAUTUJA (2024) Black Metal, Death Jam Metal

ANNA BUTTERSS - MIGHTY VERTEBRATE (2024) Jazz

GNOD & WHITE HILLS - DROP OUT III (2025) Psychedelic Jam Rock

YOUTH LAGOON - RARELY DO I DREAM (2025) Dreamy Pop

HAUNTED PLASMA - I (2024) This is what happens when your plasma becomes haunted...

IRENE

ROSALIA: LUX (2025) Latin-Pop, Alt Pop

Accompaniments vary from gentle piano and string accompaniments to electronic waves and percussion while Rosalia's voice soars above in a celebration of emotion. Whether you are fluent in Spanish or not, this is a moving album. Fave tracks: the tender aria-like 'Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti' and 'Berghain' featuring Bjork. Sublime.

KELELA: IN THE BLUE LIGHT (2025) Jazz, Funk-Soul, Pop

Another album from a super gifted diva, this album is recorded at the famed New York Blue Note Jazz Club. The chatter of voices guides you into a live set from across her discography. A haunting, beautiful, elegant and (mostly) unplugged affair including harp accompaniment.

DUNE: PART TWO, ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK (2024) Electronic, Classical, Soundtrack ... & THE DUNE SKETCHBOOK (2021)

A rich palette and blend of orchestral instruments, human voice and percussion with electronic sound effects. Ethereal, familiar and exotic. An album I continue to delight in for it's complexity/simplicity and quality sound production. TBH I have delighted in all the DUNE soundtracks...

DUNE PROPHECY: MUSIC FROM THE SERIES (2025) Electronic, Classical, Soundtrack

Evocative - perfect musical journey into the episodic Dune sci-fi world.

ETHEL CAIN: WILLOUGHBY TUCKER, I'll ALWAYS LOVE YOU (2025) Shoegaze, Bedroom Pop, Alt-Americana

This one is melancholic, dreamy and an album that has slowcore soothed me through the difficult moments in 2025. Hayden's album 'Perverts' also released in 2025 is so worth checking out for its dark-ambient-noise-drone kind of soothing...

HDU: HIGHER EP (1997) Post-rock, Alternative, Aotearoa Indie

An adventurous electric sojourn to match their super powerful and immersive 2025 NZ tour! Get at it if you have not yet checked them out...

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We hope you have made some epic musical discoveries in 2025 too - and may 2026 bring us all more enthusiasm, time and energy to celebrate many more great artistic things !!

Thanks for all the conversations, for bringing your families and friends in, for visiting Relics in person and for supporting our little store online -- aaand for helping to champion all our favourite artists out there - especially our NEW ZEALAND wonders!

Most of all, our biggest gratitude to you all - for transitioning with us from St Andrew Street through to the new George Street store. It has been a massive year! We look forward to many more fun times together in our new community space...