28-07-2025
10 great Irish albums you might have missed so far in 2025
The Irish music scene continues to flourish, and it's a beautiful thing to see some of our biggest acts - from Fontaines DC, to Hozier, to CMAT, to Kneecap - making such a huge impact on the global stage.
That said, in the mad rush to proclaim the Next Big Thing, it can be all too easy to overlook the plethora of wonderful bands and artists releasing albums, who might not have a big profile or a label's PR department to push their work out to the masses.
Considering we're past the halfway mark of the year, here are ten Irish albums that may have escaped your attention in 2025…
1. George Houston - TODC (The Original Death Card)
Having spent part of 2024 supporting Paul Weller on his North American tour, this young Donegal musician decamped to Weller's Black Barn studio to record his fourth album. Interwoven with themes of tarot, TODC is a record that blazes with incandescent fury at the Catholic Church on the title track, yet also explores the more vulnerable aspects of growing up within the LGBT community in rural Ireland (Drag Queen). Houston deals with big topics, but as seen on his recent appearance on Later… with Jools Holland, he has the charisma and presence to draw you into his world.
2. M(h)aol - Something Soft
Their 2023 debut Attachment Styles made quite a statement: this Dublin trio came out of the traps all guns blazing with a record that was uncompromising as it was brashly experimental. Their punky ethos continues apace with another collection of tense, nervy songs that tackle everything from animal welfare to consumerism. These are short, sharp blasts of propulsive punk, tinged with both fuzzy discordance and deep grooves.
3. Poor Creature - All Smiles Tonight
The latest Irish act to be signed to Rough Trade's River Lea imprint is this supergroup of-sorts, comprising Cormac MacDiarmada and John Dermody (Lankum) and Ruth Clinton (Landless). Produced by John 'Spud' Murphy (Lankum/Oxn), Poor Creature's incursions into trad, folk and bluegrass are astonishing at times, eliciting comparisons to Cocteau Twins and even covering a Ray Lynam and Philomena Begley song for good measure. Whoever would've thought, etc…
4. Kean Kavanagh - The County Star
You may have already seen comedian Peter McGann's memorable turn in the video for Kavanagh's single The Whistle; the good news is that the rest of the Portlaoise native's debut album is as good as that song suggests. This is a seriously accomplished record that sticks to its creative vision from start to finish, drawing in influences from country music, soul, indie and pop. Songs like Melting and Never are straight out of Beck's songbook, while A Country Song plunders from 1980s heartland rock. Throughout it all, Kavanagh's lyric sheet never strays far from his midlands hometown, as heard on 45s.
5. Paddy Hanna - Oylegate
A long-term fixture on Ireland's indie and DIY scene, Dubliner Hanna has forged an impressive solo career after years in and out of bands like Grand Pocket Orchestra, Skelocrats and Autre Monde. His fifth album, named for a small village in Wexford and produced once again by Gilla Band's Daniel Fox, has all of Hanna's songwriting quirks - from the soft synthy throb of Harry Dean, to the loungey Caterpillar Wine and the clipped, XTC-esque Oylegate Station.
6. Curtisy - Beauty in the Beast
He made quite a big impression with 2024's What Was the Question, which was nominated for the Choice Music Prize; Tallaght rapper Gavin Curtis, aka Curtisy, is a breath of fresh air on the Irish hip-hop scene. His mixtape with producer hikii showcases the best of his creativity, as he gets ultra-vulnerable on songs like W!, which sees him reflect upon his relationship with booze, and the title track which delves into the issue of addiction. It's thoughtful and thought-provoking fare, delivered in his idiosyncratic laidback style and infused with a healthy streak of humour.
7. Maria Somerville - Luster
It seems criminal that such a superb album could possibly be overlooked, so don't let Maria Somerville's stunning work fall between the cracks of 2025. The Galway native signed to the prestigious 4AD label for Luster, a record heavily influenced by her native Connemara. You can well imagine gazing out onto a misty lough as the breathy Corrib or the propulsive, dream-like reverberations of Garden play over headphones. This is a finely-tuned, evocative collection.
8. Skinner - New Wave Vaudeville
Skinner is the project of the Dublin-based multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer Aaron Corcoran who has been inspired by the New York no-wave scene in the late '70s/early '80s. On his debut album, Corcoran draws in influences from the likes of The B52s, The Rapture and even Pixies, all filtered through an Irish art-rock lens (there's even a song called Tell My Ma.) An enjoyably diverse mix of sounds - plus added saxophone, for good measure.
9. Bren Berry - In Hope Our Stars Align
You may know Berry from his former guise as frontman of '90s alt-rock band Revelino, who released three albums during their seven-year tenure. It's taken until now for the Dubliner to go solo - but as this beautifully-crafted record proves, it's better late than never. Berry's odes to the simple pleasures of life - family, music, love - are funnelled into songs like Beautiful Losers, the slouchy soulfulness of We Have it All and the gently sweeping orchestration of Winter Song, while his experience in both the music business and life itself gives both character and depth to this collection.
10. Alanna Thornburgh - Shapeshifter
We all know that Irish folk and trad is undergoing a major renaissance, but this album may have flown under many people's radars. Inspired by Irish fairy folklore and mythology, Mayo artist Alannah Thornburgh collected stories from a variety of historians, storytellers and locals; their tales are woven through this striking, mostly instrumental album, many of its songs composed on harp. An album that leans into the traditional side rather than the experimental, it's well worth a listen.
