True to the HighClouds spirit, we’ve once again tried to shine a light on overlooked releases and new or under-the-radar artists alongside some more familiar names. And yes… for the second year the same artist is topping our Best Songs list. At this point, it’s safe to say we’re obsessed. All of the tracks featured here (and many others) are also gathered in our Spotify playlist, that you can find below.

Thank you for reading, listening, and sharing music with us throughout 2025. We wish you a beautiful end of the year, and we’ll be back very soon in 2026 to share even more amazing music with you.

60 Avalon – Harder To Reach Than God
59 Farao – Waiting for You
58 Reggie Devoyage – Down Town
57 Nuovo Testamento – Picture Perfect
56 Yumi Zouma – Drag
55 Boyhood – A Grand Time
54 Danny L Harle; Caroline Polachek – Azimuth
53 Fernette – Lowlands
52 Jouska – Season of Dread
51 Charli xcx – Chains of Love

50 Pearly Drops – End Credits
49 Marina Zispin – Penthouse Samba
48 Boyish – Jumbos
47 Sword II – Sugarcane
46 TOPS – Chlorine
45 Robyn – Dopamine
44 The Deep – KPOP B!TCH
43 Juliana Madrid – Jamie
42 Men I Trust – Come Back Down
41 R. Missing – Telepolartears

40 Jenny Hval – The artist is absent – 89 seconds rewrite
39 Fontaines D.C. – Before You I Just Forget
38 hemlocke springs – the beginning of the end
37 Sea Lemon – Stay
36 Georgie & Joe – Pacemaker
35 Fine – I could
34 Jessy Lanza – Slapped By My Life
33 Arny Margret – Day Old Thoughts
32 Lipsticism – Erased
31 Clara Kimera; notinbed – angel candles

30 Neggy Gemmy – Mysterious Girl
29 Joanne Robertson; Oliver Coates – Always Were
28 Hannah Jadagu – My Love
27 HTRK – Swimming Pool
26 Night Tapes – television
25 Raisa K – Affectionately
24 helen island – hot zone, regular day
23 Dean Blunt; Elias Rønnenfelt – 1
22 Cole Pulice – After the Rain
21 crushed – starburn

20 AMORE – Delirio
19 Oneohtrix Point Never – Rodl Glide
18 Erika de Casier – Delusional
17 Judeline – chica de cristal
16 Dijon – Yamaha
15 Rochelle Jordan – Ladida
14 PinkPantheress – Illegal
13 Maria Somerville – Garden
12 Ethel Cain – Fuck Me Eyes
11 Sophia Stel – Everyone Falls Asleep In Their Own Time

10 Jim Legxacy – ’06 wayne rooney
9 Magdalena Bay – Human Happens
8 snuggle – Woman Lake
7 Addison Rae – Headphones On
6 After – 300 dreams
5 FKA twigs – Striptease
4 james K – Play
3 Nourished by Time – Max Potential
2 Smerz – You got time and I got money
1 Oklou – blade bird

We know these lists are completely subjective and that ranking music can feel a little weird at times but these are the records we’ve had on repeat over the past 12 months. More importantly, in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, highlighting lesser-known and often overlooked artists remains the very essence of our blog. We hope you’ll take the time to dive into the artists and projects you might not know yet.

Like last year, the list is ordered alphabetically, because the “real” ranking changes every day depending on our mood. That said, if you’re looking for a top three, keep an eye on Oklou, Nourished By Time, and Smerz.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and stay tuned next week for our Best Songs of 2025 list.

The 47 EPs, Albums, And Mixtapes that defined 2025 according to HighClouds

Acopia – Blush Response
Addison Rae – Addison
After – After EP 1/2
AMORE – Top Hits, Ballads, etc
Annahstasia – Tether
crushed – no scope
Dean Blunt & Elias Rønnenfelt – lucre EP
deer park – Terra Infirma
Disiniblud – Disiniblud
Erika de Casier – Lifetime
Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You
FKA Twigs – Eusexua
Georgie & Joe – What I Made With Joe
Horsegirl – Phonetics On and On
Ichiko Aoba – Luminiscent Creatures
JADE – THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!
james K – Friend
Jane Inc. – A Rupture A Canyon A Birth
Jenny Hval – Iris Silver Mist
Jim Legxacy – black british music (2025)
Joanne Robertson – Blurrr
Jouska – How Did I Wind Up Here?
Laura Groves – Yes
Lipsticism – Wanted To Show You
Malibu – Vanities
Maria Somerville – Luster
Marina Zispin – Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
Men I Trust – Equus Caballus / Equus Asinus
Molly Nilsson – Amateur
Neggy Gemmy – She Comes From Nowhere
Night Tapes – portals//polarities
No Joy – Bugland
Nourished By Time – The Passionate Ones
Nuovo Testamento – Trouble EP
Oklou – Choke Enough
Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer
Panda Bear – Sinister Grift
Pearly Drops – The Voices Are Coming Back
R. Missing – Like The Sound Of Injured Love
Raisa K – Affectionately
Rat Heart – Dancin’ In The Streets
Sea Lemon – Diving For A Prize
Smerz – Big City Life
snuggle – Goodbyehouse
Sofia Kourtesis – Volver EP
Sophia Stel – How To Win At Solitaire EP
Yawning Portal – Anywhere

Their new project, Big city life EDITS, just dropped via Escho, reimagining one of our favourite releases of the year, Big city life. Since the original LP came out in May, we’ve been captivated by the way it captures everyday chaos with a kind of hazy, escapist magic. And spoiler: “You got time and I got money” will most likely rank high on our end-of-year list.

Smerz’s Big city life EDITS invites an impressive lineup of artists, including luminaries Astrid Sonne, Erika de Casier, Clairo, Molina, Fine, Fousheé, ML Buch, Haloplus+, and more, to reinterpret the songs they love. The duo describes the project as a way to “let the music pass through people you admire,” transforming it into a living mirror, full of new textures and emotions.

In the meantime, the pair continue their sold-out world tour across Europe and the UK. And one piece of advice: catch them if you can.

Her latest track, “Portal”, feels like stepping into a humid, dreamlike landscape. A warm, weighty bass and reverberating guitars hover in the mix, while her voice drifts somewhere between reality and magic. She seems to be addressing someone else, or perhaps her own inner self, in a song that balances freedom with melancholy.

Fine’s new music arrives alongside a busy run of shows: she’s playing sold-out dates across Europe this fall and will make her North American debut with a group performance at New York’s Knockdown Center, alongside the amazing Erika de Casier, Smerz, and urika’s bedroom. Looking ahead, she’s already announced a special show at Earth Hackney in February 2026.

Fine- LIVE DATES
10/13/2025 – Berlin, DE @ 8mm Bar (sold out)
10/14/2025 – Berlin, DE @ 8mm Bar (sold out)
10/15/2025 – Amsterdam, NL @ Cinetol
10/16/2025 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic Records
10/17/2025 – London, UK @ St Matthias Church (sold out)
10/18/2025 – London, UK @ The Ivy House (sold out)
10/24/2025 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knockdown Centre w/ Erika de Casier, Smerz,
urika’s bedroom
10/30/2025 – Los Angeles, CA @ Brain Dead Studios (sold out)
11/15/2025 – Copenhagen, DK @ Alice
2/17/2026 – London, UK @ EartH Hackney

Now, she’s back with something a little different — Lifetime, a cassette-only project released quietly through her Bandcamp. It sold out fast, and no wonder. There’s something about Erika’s music that feels made for tape: intimate, warm, and just a little bit nostalgic. She called it “a collection of music made without pressure or expectations, just for the joy of it.” That joy comes through. It’s unpolished in the best way — like a handwritten note from someone you care about.

And today, she surprised fans by releasing Lifetime on all major streaming platforms. Missed the cassette? Now there’s no need to track down a secondhand copy or hunt through YouTube rips — just press play and get lost in it. Spoiler: it is very good.

“Bikini” embodies the essence of summer, as its title suggests. It perfectly blends the unique styles of both artists, resulting in an ethereal and sexy dembow bop that invites you to dance and dream by the beach. The song was co-written by de Casier and León, with production assistance from Sammy alongside the Florida producer.

Though Erika de Casier hasn’t released an album since Sensational in 2021, the Danish artist has not been resting. In 2022, she collaborated with Mura Masa. And just last year, she worked with Shygirl, as well as NewJeans, producing “Super Shy,” one of our favorite songs of the last year. 2024 is also off to a great start for de Casier, as she announced today the release of her third album, Still.

On Still, Erika de Casier once again collaborates with co-producer N, and welcomes new contributors such as Jonathan Jull Ludvigsen, Carl Emil Johansen, Niels Kirk, Christian Rhode Lindinger, Nick León, Kirsten Nyhus Janssen, and Tobias Sachse. Blood Orange, Shygirl, and They Hate Change are also credited on the project.

You can already listen to the blissful lead single “Lucky” and meet Erika by the beach in the accompanying video, directed by Jesse May Fisher.

If you like synths, dreamy melodies, and atmospheres that stand somewhere between ambient and club, you have to add Courtesy to your radar right now. Following up to her 2022 debut EP Night Journeys, the Danish producer will release her debut album, fra eufori, in a few months. The project features eight reinterpretations of trance-leaning pop tracks from the 80s, 90s and 2000s.

After “Saltwater”, a Lyra Pramuk-assisted cover of a Chicane‘s 1999 trance classic, Courtesy recently shared another dreamy offering off the record, “You​’​re Not Alone” (originally performed by Olive in 1996, and covered multiple times since then), which features the amazing Erika de Casier (vocals) and August Rosenbaum (piano).