Monthly Listening: Nov/Dec 2025
Dec. 30th, 2025 04:10 pmI’ve been battling migraines on and off for the past several weeks, so this is an iosyscore-free zone as much as Maltine Records is trying otherwise.
- Perfume / Fumetsu no anata
- I’m not ready for their “cryosleep” (hiatus) :(
- Kitamura Fuki / Used to Fall
- From Kitamura Fuki’s debut album Spira1oop, one of this year’s j-edm highlights. Unfortunately edm is too headache so I’m saving the album for the new year.
- LLLL × Meishi Smile / Senritsu ★
- City, the Maltine Records 20th anniversary compilation, is a must-listen for any netlabel aficionado. My netlabel fave of 2016 LLLL (/foɹ.ɛl/) and long-time collaborator Meishi Smile show themselves in top form with this hardcore hopecore track.
- D.A.N. / Daydreaming I & Daydreaming II
- Daydreaming but sometimes the low-grade anxiety sets in.
- Yukiguni / The Dream of the Evening Cicada (Higurashi no Yume) ★
- The musical encapsulation of walking out in a drizzle until you must scream.
- Hollerado / What Killed Elvis Presley? (CW: pandemic mention) ★
- Canadian indie is so back.
- cambelles / Giddy Parades (Machiba)
- A twangy folk guitar sun-dappered walk into a sax solo, then back again.
- ohayoumadarou / Crawl
- A Garageband-y mix of swirling electronica and sing-rap from Rachel (chelmico)’s first solo album.
- RAY / Seiza no Yozora
- It’s math rock, shoegaze, and sparkly idol pop.
- Laura day romance / running in the dark ★
- The lead single from their second full-length album this year. I haven’t sung along to a chorus about closing my eyes this ferally since Bastille in 2012.
- kurayamisaka / sunday driver ★
- I love songs about yearning as you undertake a journey, and better yet this is a great one to turn up while you’re driving.
- Sayonara Ponytail / Água (Mizu)
- Other people set lofi beats to study to, I put on Sayonara Ponytail’s light bossanova album and crank out code.
- Hoshino Gen / Glitch (CW: flashing)
- Fun pop song with a bit of a math jazz influence.