Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items released during this period — songs, albums, books, films, you name it.
1. Geese Live At The Amsterdam Bar & Grill in St. Paul, Minnesota, October 18
About two-thirds into this gig, one member of the Brooklyn indie band’s intensely locked-in audience exclaimed, “Cameron fucking Winter!” It was during a break between songs, so everybody heard it. Some laughed, but at least one person protested. With perfect timing, they shouted, “There’s other people, too!” The exchange echoed a familiar refrain — one that I’ve made myself — amid the ecstatic response to Getting Killed, the third Geese LP that already feels like a lock for “album of the year” status in 2025, at least among indie listeners.
The album’s reception had been primed for months in advance by lead singer Cameron Winter’s solo record Heavy Metal, which arrived last December with little fanfare before gradually (and then quickly) becoming a word-of-mouth sensation. Before then, Geese was adrift in terms of critical and popular esteem, despite putting out one of the more exhilarating rock records in recent memory with 2023’s 3D Country, But after Heavy Metal, they were suddenly a hot property, though in the minds of some in attendance they were, apparently, The Cameron Winter Band. (Or, I guess, The Cameron Fucking Winter Band.) But they’re not that. Geese is… Geese, a real unit in the classic “I thought they didn’t make ’em like this anymore” sense. They are also the band right now. That’s clear from the combustive alchemy achieved on Getting Killed, but it’s doubly apparent if you’re lucky enough to catch one of their remarkable live gigs this fall.
2. Mitski: The Land
In this fascinating concert film, shot over three shows last year in Atlanta, we see the enigmatic indie-pop star move about a starkly decorated stage alone, with members of her excellent seven-piece band situated on the outer edges. On film, director Grant James takes a cue from Andi Watson’s minimalist stage design by emphasizing Mitski’s singularity, framing her at a remove from the audience and her fellow musicians. She is, in almost every shot, holding all our attention; When James cuts to the band, he keeps her out of the frame. Otherwise, Mitski’s most prominent on-screen co-stars are the two chairs she deploys as props at center stage.
It’s a fascinating contrast with the biggest concert film of the decade, 2023’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. That movie is designed to show off the enormity of the subject’s fame, with endless sweeping overhead stadium shots where tens of thousands of delirious Swifties genuflect at the altar of Taylor. It is meant to be a worshipful monument to Taylor Swift As One-Woman Monoculture, a representation of Pop Fandom As Community. But Mitski, as she said, is a woman apart. In The Land, she’s building a world, her own world. And she’s inviting you to watch her move through that world. Though, importantly, she doesn’t necessarily extend that invitation to join her there.
3. Jonny Greenwood — One Battle After Another soundtrack
Greenwood is rightly celebrated for his contributions to Paul Thomas Anderson’s films. As I wrote in 2018, his partnership with the director is not unlike his union with Thom Yorke in Radiohead: “If Yorke is Radiohead’s writer-director figure, the equivalent to PTA, then Greenwood is like a hybrid of cinematographer, composer, and executive producer — a supplier of mood and texture, as well as a fix-it man.” But Greenwood’s PTA scores also work surprisingly well as stand-alone albums.
When I ranked the entirety of Radiohead’s discography a few years ago — taking into account solo records and side projects along with proper band releases — I put There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread in my top 10, just ahead of Pablo Honey and right behind Yorke’s The Eraser. I called them the OK Computer and Kid A of Greenwood’s film scores, which would then make his music for One Battle After Another in the analogy In Rainbows, the “mature” work that might very well prove to be his best.
4. Bruce Springsteen — Electric Nebraska
This month, Electric Nebraska was made available in record stores and on streaming platforms. It is the focal point of a new box set commemorating the release of the sixth Bruce Springsteen album, which is also the subject of a new film starring Jeremy Allen White. Just like that, Electric Nebraska is this very tangible and accessible thing. And that’s pretty strange, given that only four months ago, not even Bruce Springsteen thought a full-band version of his famously solo acoustic record even existed.
Here’s the problem, though: The regular Nebraska exists. And it is perfect as is. That’s what those songs are supposed to sound like. And because the songs sound like that, Nebraska will always be unique in Bruce Springsteen’s catalog. Electric Nebraska, meanwhile, is composed of eight outtakes that sound a bit like Born In The U.S.A. and a bit like The River. The E Street Band, road-tested and at the peak of their powers, take Bruce’s quiet meditations on regret, guilt, and trauma and turn them into pile-driving rock songs. Because that’s what they do, and they’re extremely good at it. Electric Nebraska sounds good! But it was never going to be more than just an interesting subplot to this album the world has recognized as a masterpiece for 43 years. Electric Nebraska is not a full-fledged album in its own right. It’s the musical equivalent of a DVD “making of” extra.
5. Jay Som — Belong
I first wrote about Melinda Duterte — the Oakland native who records and performs as Jay Som — back in 2017, when she first emerged as a member of the so-called “Bandcamp Generation” of millennials who got popular online and then formed bands to tour. At the time I described her as “a multi-hyphenate wunderkind — a singer, songwriter, and producer of sneakily sophisticated indie-pop songs.” And I still believe that, though it’s been a minute since she’s put out a record. In the meantime, she’s produced other artists (like Chris Farren) and toured as part of Boygenius. Thankfully, she’s back this month with Belong, her first album in six years, and it finds her not missing a beat when it comes to making instantly enjoyable and replayable indie-pop tunes.
6. Glass-Beagle — Early Riser
Recently, someone put a bug in my ear about this young Chicago band, who describe themselves as playing “country and folk, power pop and rock ‘n’ roll.” So, yes, they are part of the Wilco School Of Chicago Bands, residing squarely in the “Being There crossed with Summerteeth” zone. Their latest EP, Early Riser, dropped back in May, but I just caught up with it and I’ve been playing it regularly.
7. Good Flying Birds — Talulah’s Tape
This Indianapolis band is named after a Guided By Voices song. More specifically, a Tobin Sprout song from Alien Lanes, my favorite album of all time (and the inspiration for the name of my Substack newsletter). So I was already on board before pushing play on their new album. But then I was really on board once I heard how well they execute the admittedly well-worn jangle-pop formula, which is hard to make sound fresh but when it works (as it does here) it goes down easy.
8. Hannah Frances — Nested Tangles
This beguiling singer-songwriter welcomes Joni Mitchell comparisons due to her use of alternate tunings as well as the Hejira vibes that permeate albums like 2024’s Keeper Of The Shepherd and her strong new LP. But fans of aughts-era freak folk will also find much to love here, as Frances specializes in melodic and transportive musical eccentricity. There’s also a “time out of mind” quality that evokes the the chilly beauty of ’60s British folk. (I actually thought she was British the first time I heard Keeper Of The Shepherd, but she’s actually from Chicago, which makes her about as English as Mike Ditka.)