Our favourite indie albums and singles released in February 2025 - featuring Sam Fender, Doves, Inhaler and more.
Welcome to the la edition of 2025 of our monthly indie review blog. In this edition, we review the best new indie music released from the month that’s just been.
February itself was an absolute bumper month for new music giving us plenty to mull over! With contributions from Matthew McLister and Neil Renton, here's a review of the best albums from February 2025.
Albums
The Murder Capital - Blindness
Long associated with city counterparts Fontaines D.C., Dublin post-punk outfit The Murder Capital escaped such comparisons on 2023’s Gigi’s Recovery by delivering a nuanced portrayal of self-discovery and recovery. Blindness ambitiously takes a new approach altogether. There’s an unpolished charm to the Irish band’s third outing. The songs are expansive, refreshingly raw and ‘90s alt-rock inspired, yet without losing their intimate lure.
‘The Fall’ is undoubtedly the highlight here with its killer riff, thrashing drums and thrilling self-destructive chorus. ‘Words Lost Meaning’ stomps along with grunge capabilities and James McGovern’s lyrical cynicism of love, while ‘Born Into The Flight’ stuns in its adaptability and unsettling atmospherics. The prioritisation of urgency ensures Blindness is The Murder Capital’s most accessible and enjoyable record to date. (words by Matthew McLister)
Inhaler - Open Wide
Three albums in less than four years is some run from the Irish band Inhaler. They’ve clearly got a fan base as each release has made it to at least number two in the album charts.
On the whole, Open Wide is enjoyable. Single ‘Your House’ stands out from the pack with its gospel flavoured style but the rest of it rarely wanders from the big indie anthem path it’s on.
You’re left wanting more. At this stage in their career you’d be hoping they’d start to climb the festival line up to the point in which they’re knocking on the dressing room door of the headliners, telling them not to get too comfy.
They’re not quite there. Yet. (Words by Neil Renton)
Doves - Constellations for the Lonely
Doves’ music has stood the test of time. Today, they stand as legendary purveyors of catchy melancholic tunes. An impeccable sound still charming 25 years after the release of their seminal 2000 debut ‘Lost Souls’. The Manchester trio – formed of Jimi Goodwin, plus brother Jez Williams and Andy Williams – have long held a curious position in the British indie world since. Poster boys for ‘00s indie they were not, but that hasn’t stopped them gaining three number 1 albums and a list of radio-friendly songs as long as your arm.
After taking a near decade long hiatus after 2009’s Kingdom of Rust, Doves returned in 2020 with the much-acclaimed The Universal. The following five years have been anything but smooth sailing. Cancelled tours due to frontman Jimi Goodwin’s mental health struggles and subsequent personal problems threatened the band’s very existence. But they’ve survived to tell the tale. The fruits of this period are now heard on Constellations For the Lonely: a poignant and raw alt-rock sixth record carrying a strong emotional pull, fractured qualities and sonic exploration.
Constellations for the Lonely is an intricate and masterful record from a band at the top of their game. Still a familiar sound for old fans to enjoy, yet still open to exploring new terrain. Doves have faced their personal difficulties over the years and used album number six as a means of catharsis. In turn, they’ve delivered not just one of their best albums but one of the best you’ll hear this year. (Words by Matthew McLister)
Kyle Falconer - The One I Love The Most
Roses are Red
Violets are blue
Kyle’s released a collection of solo songs inspired by females
And there’s also stuff from The View
I struggle to keep up with The View but I reckon I’m not the only one. They’re back, they’ve split, they’re back and fighting on stage. It’s a lot to take in.
One thing that is consistent is Kyle Falconers superior songwriting. Here’s a stripped back collection of songs from his own material and others from the band, all influenced by females and all demonstrating his craft.
It’s like a bootleg Greatest Hits that’s perfect for Valentines Day or any other day in which you want to fall in love. (Words by Neil Renton)
Squid - Cowards
The first time I heard this album I was impressed. Then strangely the more I heard it the less invested in it I became.
What was I missing that I’d first noticed? Why was everyone else saying it was the best album of the month and it’ll end up on the End Of Year polls? So I went back in.
It’s not run of the mill and it’s better for it. ‘Blood On The Boulders’ is maybe the best example, snarling and in your face one minute, whispering under the duvet the next.
‘Cro-Magnon Man’ flirts with convention and finds itself added to my playlist of the years best tunes.
It’s music to keep us on our toes. (Words by Neil Renton)
Sam Fender - People Watching
In what felt like the longest wait ever between albums, Sam Fender finally delivered album number three in February. And the “Geordie Springsteen” smashed all expectations out the window once again.
Now, I’ll admit I’m not quite as blown away yet as I was initially with Seventeen Going Under. But that doesn’t mean I’m not still gripped by People Watching - albeit, I haven’t quite devoured the album as much as his last…not yet, anyway! His latest was co-produced with Adam Granduciel of The War On Drugs fame, which really feels like a suitable fit considering the heartland rock similarities of both acts (I’ve been banging on for ages how much of an influence The War On Drugs have been on Sam without it being noted elsewhere).
And Sam goes even stronger in this direction here, matching his working class reflections with introspective poignancy and arena-sized, soaring-ness. The latter is typified by the rousing title trackwritten about Sam’s experiences visiting a surrogate mother figure in a care home before her death.
‘Nostalgia’s Lie’ was a personal favourite, one that sounds bittersweet and uplifting yet full of cynical lyricism. The moody vibe on ‘TV Dinner’ stands the track out within the back half for its more unconventional structure. But it’s the brass-carrying closer ‘Remember My Name’ that steals the show entirely, a tear-jerking ode to Sam’s dementia-suffering grandmother.
So, People Watching is a beautiful, poetic and gut punching record that will undoubtedly catapult Sam’s success to even new heights. Hopefully now even America can start to take notice – that is if they can ignore the lazy Springsteen tropes that seem to unfairly cast a pre-judgement with many American music critics (looking at you Anthony Fantano!) (Words by Matthew McLister)
Hi Fi Sean and David McAlmont - Twilight
The follow up to last album Daylight arrives a mere six months after its predecessor. It’s full of the passion you’d expect from a pair of pioneers. Songs like ‘Equinox Children’ and ‘Sorry I Made You Cry’ prove this isn’t an also of after thought.
Vocally, McAlmont is unrivalled with an ability to stop you in your tracks with his torch song delivery. But it’s not a solo gig and he’s ably backed by the sonic shaman that is Hi Fi Sean.
It’s a masterly celebration of that time when things are about to settle down or the magic starts. They’ve called for the best album they’ve done so far and it could well be. (Words by Neil Renton)
The Manic Street Preachers - Critical Thinking
Any concerns that The Manics’ are perhaps mellowing in their advancing years are blown out of the water straight away.
The title track kicks off the album with the type of intelligent rage that made the band famous and loved.
It’s not all angry. ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ is one of the finest accounts of struggling with who you’ve been and who you are within a modern and ever changing world that’s been put to song.
There’s some missteps along the way with the likes of ‘My Brave Friend’ not quite reaching the heights it’s aiming for.
Don’t let that put you off. Instead be thankful that they’ve said that they’ve got plans for more material. (Words by Neil Renton)
Circa Waves - Death & Love, Pt. 1
Over summer 2015, Circa Waves quickly became one the UK’s hottest new bands and the toast of the country’s festival circuit. Their mainstream appeal was obvious - breezy indie anthems like ‘T Shirt Weather’ and ‘Fossils’ just felt tailor made for soundtracking carefree days in the sun and good times.
A decade on and life today isn’t quite as carefree for the band. In 2023, frontman Kieran Shudall was forced into emergency heart surgery and told he could die. Of course, the singer pulled through, but this health scare completely changed his outlook, ultimately inspiring the creation of Circa Waves sixth album. And what has arrived is a collection of upbeat and introspective indie anthems centring around this near-death experience.
Death & Love, Pt. 1 is mix of two contrasts: hopeful yet vulnerable, optimistic yet poignant. A beautiful effort from a band maturing with each album. (Words by Matthew McLister)
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Despite being late to the party and only really listening towards the end of the month, here’s one I simply couldn’t not include in this months list. Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten and the first with her new band the Attachment Theory. And boy does it impress.
Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory is a poignant collection of indie-pop, synth-pop and alt-rock, packed with rich ethereal qualities, beautiful soundscapes, vulnerability and hook-laden moments. The run of opening four tracks from ‘Live Forever’ to ‘Trouble’ is pure dynamite, while the latter four ensure a grand finale (a couple of tracks around the middle weren’t doing it for me quite as much).
I was a big fan of her 2019 album Remind Me Tomorrow and she goes one better this time round. Its utterly captivating to the bitter end of breathtaking closer ‘I Want You Here’. One of the most coherent records I’ve heard in a long time.
(Words by Matthew McLister)
For the best tunes of each month, listen to our Best indie songs 2025 playlist below.
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