Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About is a weekly radio show that airs every Friday from 9-10pm PT. The show is hosted by Liz & Sean. Each week Liz and Sean share their favorite –- yet somewhat obscure or yet-to-be-discovered –- indie-pop gems. Some are lo-fi DIY ballads, others are glittery pop hits, and still others are songs that were simply ahead of their time.
We feel like the easiest way to remember what 2025 felt like is to review the year’s releases and the records we listened to most over (and over) (and over).
This year’s dig through the 2025 releases turned up treasures: albums that soothed (when the news didn’t) and albums that jittered and sparkled (when we needed them to). Our list of favorites includes a bunch of wonderful surprises, full of newcomers and the return of some forever favorites.
We hope you find a few to add to your own indie–pop rotation. Here they are — in no particular order:
Allo Darlin’ — Bright Nights
There are no words to describe how elated we were to learn that Allo Darlin’ — one of our favorite bands ever — was reuniting and releasing a new album. And we were even more elated that it lived up to our hopes and dreams.
The Cords — The Cords
This was a big year for this sister duo. Their debut album was released on Skep Wax and Slumberland Records, and they shared stages with indie-pop royalty including Heavenly, The Primitives, BMX Bandits, Shonen Knife, Camera Obscura, The Pastels, The Vaselines, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
Autocamper — What Do You Do All Day?
The debut album by this Manchester, UK band that features a stack of wonderful and scrappy lo-fi garage-pop.
Heavenly — Portland Town 7” single
The full album that will include this single will be released in 2026, but Heavenly were kind enough to give us all a sneak peek in 2025 with this 7” record (THANK YOU, HEAVENLY). Mark your calendar(s): they are playing Seattle in June 2026 and we CANNOT WAIT.
Minorcan — Rock Alone
Liz listened to “Shapeshiftin Demon” (a track on this album) on repeat throughout 2025 to get through some heavy grief… and then her super-fandom grew into loving the whole album. The Superchunk + Bruce Springsteen-inspired songwriting is both comforting and clever, especially on repeat listens.
Jetstream Pony — Bowerbirds and Blue Things
Jetstream Pony is officially a supergroup. The Brighton/Croydon-based band features members of Aberdeen, The Fireworks, The Luxembourg Signal, Trembling Blue Stars, The Wedding Present, and The Popguns. The sum of those parts makes for super catchy indie-pop.
Dub Narcotic Sound System — F*ck Sh*t Up 7”
This release features the “Hifi Sean CENSORED Mix,” a new remix of this classic K Records track which came at just the right time.
The Mary Column — Very Sparrow
This Glasgow band is led by Jack Mellin (of The Pastels!!!) and this is their debut album.
Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires — Sounds Made By Humans
We should all memorize “31 Rules for Midlife Rebellion” to stave off boredom.
The Lemons — Another Yellow World
The Lemons are a band from Chicago, Illinois, and they have a knack for making every song feel like a super fun cocktail/mocktail party.
Research Vessel — Next Weekend EP
This is a mighty PNW release on all fronts. Research Vessel is a Seattle band, and this EP was released on Olympia’s Small Craft Advisory as a limited-edition cassette.
And the item we technically can’t include on the list, but Liz is sneaking in anyway:
Tullycraft — Shoot the Point
Since Liz (me!) is the one writing this list, I get to declare this album as one of my favorites. Someone at the brilliant Seattle paper The Stranger wrote this: “So when I listened to Shoot the Point, their first new album in six years, it felt like unwrapping a gift to my inner teen, and I couldn’t stop smiling. This is classic Tullycraft, packed full of cheeky references, rhinestones, sweet ‘sha-la-la-la’ harmonies, evocative storytelling, and, of course, tambourines.” Liz heartily agrees. Sean is not convinced.
And if you want to hear our mixtape of these favorites (and more!), you can listen to our “Favorites of 2025” show via Mixcloud here: PopSongsMixtape2025Favs
