Summer is not just a season. Summer is an event. Summer is the one season that everyone, regardless of age, gender, or occupation, looks forward to. While some people might not be fans of the endless torture of a summer heatwave, it is the time of year that most people see as an escape period. The weather and lack of responsibility alone are not what makes it an event, however. What makes summer an event is everyone’s collective interest in making it theirs; having such an unforgettable stretch of time that everyone acknowledges it as their summer.
In the world of music, this is no different. Artists from all over the world try their hardest to make summer theirs. As a matter of fact, in most years, the most successful artists release project after project just for the slim opportunity of ruling the charts all summer long. While summer is obviously a time when mainstream music shines the most, many smaller artists have the same goal in mind. I want to discuss these smaller artists.
The summer of 2025’s music has been nothing short of unreal. There were so many fantastic albums and singles released over the past few months, so I am here to discuss the best and most notable projects that have made waves on the music spectrum.
Album cover for Let God Sort Em Out by Clipse (2025). Album cover created by KAWS.
Perhaps the album creating the most buzz in non-mainstream music this summer, Clipse’s comeback album proved to be well worth the wait. Clipse is a hardcore hip hop duo from Virginia rappers Pusha T and Malice. Clipse is my personal favorite rap group of the 2000s, as they effortlessly blended great pop rap and a gritty southern-hardcore style. Their swagger and excellent flows saw them defy the odds by having decent chart success in a genre that had not seen it in nearly a decade. Both rappers got their start together, but following their breakup in 2009, they each have had very different paths back to each other.
Pusha T has become one of the most prominent figures in hip hop today, with highlights such as his 2018 feud with Drake and his timeless albums like DAYTONA (2018) and It’s Almost Dry (2022). On the other hand, Malice has seen a very iffy last 15 years. He mostly stayed out of the spotlight, excluding his features on Pusha T’s aforementioned projects. After his guest verse on the outro to It’s Almost Dry, fans of both rappers were desperate for more material together. On Jul. 11, 2025, those eager fans got exactly what they wished for.
Produced by the legendary Pharrell Williams, Clipse made their long-awaited comeback with Let God Sort Em Out, my personal favorite rap album of the year. The anticipation could not have been higher. The duo released two incredible singles, Ace Trumpets and So Be It, both strong contenders for the best rap songs of the year. The singles would prove to be only a small part of the story.
The first song alone, The Birds Don’t Sing, is genuinely perfect. For a group known for being loud, gritty, careless, and unconcerned, Clipse crafted one of the most vulnerable and emotional songs I have heard this year. The subject of the song is the duo’s relationships with each of their parents. I am choosing not to spoil this song any further, as this song deserves to deliver the twists and turns to the listener. However, it can not be understated how incredible each of their verses are on this song.
However, not the entire album is like that. Let God Sort Em Out, while vulnerable in moments, is one of the most scathing and visceral records of the whole year. Songs like Chains & Whips, F.I.C.O., M.T.B.T.T.F., and Ace Trumpets go absolutely crazy in any setting. Another thing to highlight is Pharrell Williams’ amazing production, specifically on So Be It and Chains & Whips, the latter including a feature from all-time great Kendrick Lamar, who contributed a great guest verse.
Speaking of features, this project had several great guest verses ranging from legends of the game like Nas to prominent chart toppers such as Tyler, the Creator, and the aforementioned Kendrick Lamar. The former is my favorite feature on the album, once again turning back the clock, proving that Nas, even to this day, is among the best rappers alive.
In conclusion, Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out is an energetic love letter to die-hard fans and followers of the genre. I love this album, and I am impatiently waiting for any new material from the duo.
My rating for Let God Sort Em Out: 9.1/10
Album cover for Pain to Power by Maruja (2025), cover created by Mikey Thomas
Among all the people I talk to about music, I would say the one thing that I am the most outspoken about is how Maruja is possibly the best band on the planet. I have covered Maruja lots of times in the past; Of course, when it comes to their respective 2023 and 2024 EPs Knocknarea and Connla’s Well, I have praised them to the moon and back, but this year in particular has proved them to be a force of nature in rock music.
Maruja has experimented with multiple different styles over the course of their time as a band, mainly exploring post-punk in the EPs I mentioned earlier, as well as a post-rock EP early in the year with Tír na nÓg. Shortly after that final EP dropped, the band announced the arrival of their first full-length album, and let me be the first to tell you that it will 100% be the best album of the year.
So far, the band has released three singles for their new record, Pain to Power, and while they all are great, there is one song specifically that changed my perspective on music as a whole. First, let me discuss the other two. The first single that Maruja released for the album is titled Break the Tension, a great art-punk song that showcases their incredible ability to blend chaos and beauty. Impressively, the third single, Saoirse, is an even better take on art-punk, overflowing with a mind-blowing saxophone riff that will not leave my head no matter how hard I try to get rid of it.
The second single, though, Look Down On Us, is not only the best song that has been released this year, not even the best song of the 2020s decade, but is one of the best songs that has ever blessed my ears. At face value, the song is everything that Maruja is known for. The first half especially brings that hunger and chaos that is in all of Maruja’s work. That is only face value, however. Look Down On Us takes every great thing that Maruja does and multiplies it.
The song is just under ten minutes, and not a single second is anything less than perfect. The song builds and builds until it reaches its earth-shattering climax that just leaves me in awe every single time without fail. There is no “best” part of the song. It is less of a song and more of an event.
Maruja, as a group, has transcended indie rock. Maruja has become its own movement in only the span of three years without a full album even being released. I do not remember if I have ever been more excited for anything, let alone a collection of songs.
Even though there is an absence of an LP in their discography, Maruja has proved to all of its listeners that they are the best band in the world. Typically, when discussing groups releasing their first album, the band is relatively underground, and the album determines whether or not they are worth listening to. With Maruja, it is the opposite. I know for a fact that this album will be incredible. This is a feeling I have never associated with anything music-related; I am not worried whether or not this project will match my expectations. I know it will.
I highly encourage listening to Maruja’s last few EPs. They have only gotten better with each release, and it will all culminate in what is sure to be the album of the year once it hits the market, Pain to Power.
Album cover for Vanisher, Horizon Scraper by Quadeca, cover created by x8 & yams.
In a year with the comeback of one of the best rap duos of all time, perhaps the most underrated story this year is the continued brilliance of Los Angeles songwriter Quadeca.
Quadeca’s music journey has been a very bumpy one. Whether it was making awful diss tracks against YouTubers in the mid-2010s or making avant-garde folktronica music like on his fantastic 2022 album, I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You. Quadeca’s style has seen leaps and bounds over the past decade, but specifically in the 2020s, he has possibly had more improvement than any artist I’ve ever seen.
While his first album, From Me to You, showed flashes of potential while still being bloated, I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You revealed Quadeca’s genuine talent, especially on the production side of things. Songs like born yesterday and fantasyworld demonstrated his ability to invoke real and harsh emotion, something that he struggled to do before.
Now, following that and his 2024 mixtape, SCRAPYARD, people were extremely excited for his third studio album, Vanisher, Horizon Scraper. To say that this album is way better than I expected is an understatement. Quadeca’s fans have this reputation to hype up everything he does, even if it is not that great. This is finally deserved, because Vanisher, Horizon Scraper is a beaming project with many different genres.
Of course, on Vanisher, I somewhat got what I expected. It is excellently produced, and its lyrics are definitely improved over the last few projects. But, as great as this album sounds, which I will get into next, the thing that surprised me the most was the wide variety of genres that Quadeca not only attempts, but thrives in. Seriously, he covers so many genres, such as folktronica, alt-pop, neo-psychadelia, chamber folk, experimental hip hop, and more.
Every song on this album is a story of its own. To go along with this, Quadeca released a full movie to complement Vanisher. To listen to this album on its own is enough to incite loads of emotion, but watching the film elevates the album to brand new heights.
This project sounds gorgeous. The vocals sound better than ever. Every song’s instrumental is intricate and beautiful. The production is near perfect, as there is so much care and attention to detail flowing throughout Vanisher. My personal favorite song, GODSTAINED, is a great example of all this. It is very catchy, pretty, and well-crafted.
Other highlights include the beautiful singles MONDAY and FORGONE. The biggest production highlight is easily THUNDRRR, which brings an energy that Quadeca has never produced before. The outro to the album, Casper, is a cathartic and brilliant closer performed by the aforementioned Maruja, my current favorite band. That itself made it one of my favorites on the album.
As a whole, Quadeca’s Vanisher, Horizon Scraper is an incredible take on indie folk, and it makes me more excited than I have ever been for his music. Vanisher sounds like it took decades to make, so I am expecting a long break from Quadeca after his tour wraps up. He deserves a break.
My rating for Vanisher, Horizon Scraper: 9.3/10
This summer has been a great time for music. Outside of these artists that I covered here, there have been a multitude of fantastic projects released by a multitude of fantastic artists. Other highlights from summer 2025 include:
- Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist: Alfredo 2 (9/10)
- Little Simz: Lotus (8.3/10)
- JID: God Don’t Like Ugly (8.5/10)
- McKinley Dixon: Magic, Alive! (8.8/10)
- Tyler, the Creator: Don’t Tap the Glass (7.9/10)
The last two summers have been unforgettable as far as music goes. While music was only a small portion of my summer, it has made me much more excited to hear the rest of the great albums coming later this year (especially from Maruja).
