He's Dead Jim - These Men, These Monsters

 

Welcome to the new album from one of our favourites. I love what these three do, it comes from unusual angles, but is wonderfully inventive. Guitar Pop that is all over the place, but essential listening, a little Art Rock at times and a tad 70s feel mixes with the UK New Wave and Power Pop.

The recent cover of Avenues And Alleyways is inspired and not even on the album. Instead they offer up a wonderfully chaotic version of Art For Arts Sake. I've known Neil Christie for a good while due to him being an Emperor Penguin and his fellow Penguin Nigel Winfield adds guitar to two songs.

It may only be January, but we already have a contender for the Best Album Of 2026. The whole thing is exhilarating, tons of variety. You can sit back and admire the inventiveness it all or find yourself helplessly singing along. I can think of no there band that could write a better song than The Process. It is gobsmackingly great.

Under A Rock is very different. Almost Noise Rock, but so damn catchy, part Glam Rock, part Power Pop.Human Zoo gets all Garage Rock and Negative Vibes is a cross between Pun and the New Wave that followed it, wonderfully messy and noisy. 

Living In Memory is top notch Power Pop, a little reminiscent of The Motors and yet has memorable 70s Pop Rock vibes. Dragonsfiels starts the album off and shows the album means business, great Brit Pop at a rapid pace.

I was delighted that He's Dead Jim returned, but could not have imagined how explosive their return was. No living on past glows, These Men, These Monsters are of the now, the past was the past. What an incredible album. Every phase the band takes just gets better and better.

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on CD and as a download. The CD is on the Kool Kat label and can also be ordered here.

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The 425's - Monday In Disguise

Amongst the tumbleweed that is the UK scene at present, there are small shoots of recovery. The UK is so London based, yet all the happening music seems to be far away in the regions. One thing that London has provided is the debut album from this lot.

The 425's are very 60s, wonderfully so. You imagine them to live in Carnaby Street. The music is all UK Beat and melodic Psych Pop that is definitely on the Pop side. Monday In Disguise is a cracking foot tapping affair, catchy as catchy can be.

Beautiful Mistake is very Monkees, but equally like a popped up version of The Coral and wonderfully Jangly. Yet Devil You Like is more like Garage Rock, melodic Garage Rock mind you. Don't Feel Like I Should starts all Surf morphs into UK Beat and closes with glorious Psych Pop. It is a cracking listen.

Super Daydream is very much of the groovy side, but also fits Brit Pop and Psych, at times it is a little early Kula Shaker without the pomposity. Things We Share is the ideal opener, a great sampler of what is to come and what does come is excellent.

As you might expect, it is the Psych Pop has the biggest appeal to these ears, but this is really an exceptional Guitar Pop album. The biggest testament to it is that I could have chosen any of 12 songs to embed. I've chosen my 3, but your choices might be very different.

You can listen to and buy the album here.  

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Sykofant - Leaves EP

 

The beauty of I Don't Hear A Single is that I can add in the unexpected. Our base camp is largely Guitar Pop, but I listen to much different sounds when I have time, which isn't that often. I know many of you know that I am a big Prog and Psych fan, I have been for a long time. The joy of IDHAS is that I can introduce the odd thing and it gets listened to.

Some may not take to it, but more than I ever expected to do. This has been proven by the reception that Custard Flux get, culminating in a Top 10 from the Best Of 2025. Oslo's Sykofant have been the other big like from listeners. 

Red Sun dominated our ten most popular posts of the previous 30 days until it has been washed away by The Best Of stuff as most will be for the next few weeks popularity wise. Leaves follows rapidly and again it is described as an EP due to having 3 songs when at 23 minutes it is as long as some of the Power Pop albums that we cover.

There is a more mellow feel to the opening two songs, more laidback, but just as enjoyable and at times chilling. A bit more instrumental, but all that changes with the magnificent, Heart Of The Woods. This is the prime example of what Sykofant do, all 16 minutes of it is an essential album.

A wonderfully noisy Guitar fest that at times sounds like 70s Pink Floyd at times, but a much heavier sound within. Built on massive riffs. At times, it gets a little early Rush, but the song seems to conflict with its length. It is over way too soon.

This for me shows the wonder of Prog, often made fun of buy those who have never listened. The closing part is awesome as it switches to something more choral. Again, for this EP, a fourth track is added which is a continuous mix and this is the best way to listen. Sykofant may be my favourite band at the moment. What they do is mind-blowing.

You can listen to and buy the EP here.

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The Plastic Pals - Keep It Burning

 

The fourth album from Stockholm's The Plastic Pals. Essentially Indie Rock, but there is a real trip across genres on a project that is beautifully performed and produced. An ear opener is the tribute to Robbie Robertson, Blue Train, it is a bit of an outlier on such an Indie Rock album.

Such a tribute might on the face of it seem a little mawkish. But the song really works, it is heartfelt and the arrangement  works wonderfully well with the Guitar sound and that organ sound lights up a song that edges to Country Rock.

Saturday Night And Sunday Morning is a great Pop Rock opener, Flames Of Fate edges towards Psych Pop at times with an absolutely killer chorus. Lost In Translation is ace 70s Classic Rock with a fab Guitar sound and a rhythm section to die for.

Elsewhere, the title track heads into West Coast Rock territory, Petty-esque at times. Keep An Eye On The Door is looser, pacy, like a cross between The Faces and a crack Power Pop band. Decisions gets even more Power Pop and reveals a Poppy side to the band that isn't always obvious.

Then there is the instrumental, The Social Loner which has an exceptional Twang to it. This is one hell of an album. A sum of its parts, but the Guitar work is extraordinarily good. An exceptional listen from a band not afraid to travel down different roads.

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl, CD and as a download.

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Listening To This Week Playlist 26 January

  

A much shorter LTTW Playlist this week due to the time we were spending compiling and publishing the Best 100 Albums Of 2025. Just 16 songs, but everyone is an absolute winner. This week may not have quantity, but it certainly has quality.

The weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. The song order is not about song preference, but how the playlist flows.  All embeds open in new windows to aid scrolling. Links to the artists will also appear on I Don't Hear A Single Social Media sites over the next 24 hours. This will help you to discover more about the artists who appear here. 

Sloan Brothers - I Can't Sleep

Secret Molecules - What's Come Over Me

Kevin Robertson - Birdy In The Window

The Fake Friends - The Way She Goes

Melyssa Lee With Education Party - Just Friends

xo teague - Sing

The Morning Line - 90s Pick Up

The New Pornographers - Votive

The Leavitt Brothers - Godless

Brother Dynamite - Violet

Electric Pets - Nicky Is Dead

Borderlines - Freeselfservice

The Empty Page - Death On Our Side

Rocket Rules - Chapel St

The Sylvia Platters - Gwendolyn Approximately

William Duke - Summers End

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I Don't Hear A Single 10 Best EPs Of 2025

 

The final list before I go for a lie down. We celebrate our 10 favourite EPs Of 2025. Let normal service begin!

 

1  Hexham Heads - Hexham Heads      IDHAS Review

2  Secret Molecules - The Strawberry Sun      IDHAS Review

3   Elena Rogers - Always Trying      IDHAS Review

4   Janus 4-14 - Ghosts From Your Past      IDHAS Review

5   Skittish - Ugly Makes Pretty       IDHAS Review

6  Borderlines - Repair Kit      IDHAS Review

7   Rocket Rules - immediately and without hesitation    IDHAS Review

8   Slow Motion Film - Eastman / Untitled # 1     IDHAS Review

9   Fara San - Fara San     IDHAS Review

10  Spencer Pope - Dang       IDHAS Review

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I Don't Hear A Single 100 Best Albums Of The Year 2025 : The Cut Out And Keep Guide

 

Here's the full list of our Best 100 Albums Of 2025. You can keep it handy to enrich your audio life. The previous 10 posts counted the 100 down in batches of 10 albums. Each album has a link to our Review and a song embedded to give you a taster of the album.

1 The Mommyheads - No Quietus 

2 Fortitude Valley - Part Of The Problem, Baby

3 The Goods - Don't Spoil The Fun

4 Silk Cut - Corridors Of Light

5 Buddie - Glass

6 Tamar Berk - ocd

7 Chris Church - Obsolete Path

8 The Happy Fits - Lovesick

9 Custard Flux - Enter Xenon

10 Strange Neighbors - People Pleasers Pleasing People

11 The Wellingtons - Baby Moon.

12 KEYS - Acid Communism

13 The High Frequencies - The High Frequencies

14 Caper Clowns - Without The Aid Of A Safety Net

15 Drool Brothers - Psychology

16 Greg Pope - The Roar Of Silence

17 Dom Mariani - Apple Of Life

18 Camp Trash - Two Hundred Thousand Dollars

19 Kicking Bird - 11 Short Fictions.

20 Baker Island - Love Eggtually

21 Winterpills - This Is How We Dance.

22 Evening Standards - Prairie Vida

23 Clock Radio - Turfin' Out The Maniacs

24 The Prize - In The Red

25 The James Rocket - Seen

26 Little King - Lente Viviente

27 Fragile Creatures - Play Both Sides

28 Creative Writing - Baby Did This

29 No Frills - Sad Clown

30 Half-Scratches - Half-Scratches 

31 Humbug - Open Season

32 Future Clouds And Radar - Big Weather

33 The Supernaturals - Show Tunes

34 Bird Streets - The Escape Artist

35 Smackbeat - Little Letters

36 Kevin Robertson - Yellow Painted Moon

37 The Electorate - By Design

38 Chris Lund - Surveillance

39 Slow Buildings - Crash Landings, Coincidences, Chaos

40 Wyldlife - Sorted

41 Sharp Pins - Balloon Balloon Balloon

42 Tigers & Flies - Expanded Play.

43 Superchunk - Songs In The Key Of Yikes

44 The Nines - Echoes Of Past Future

45 ICEBEING - Elf Music

46 The Setting Son - Cul-De-Sac

47 Creem Circus - Get Switched On

48 Barbara - So This Is Living

49 Shortwaves - Mental Health In The Information Age

50 British Birds - Silence Daedalus

51 Glowbox - Bland Ambition

52 Fib - Heavy Lifting

53 Cream Soda - Serving You

54 Dropkick - Primary Colours

55 The Convenience - Like Cartoon Vampires

56 Soft Hearted Scientists - The Phantom Of Canton

57 Melin Melyn - Mill On The Hill

58 Iain Hornal - Return To The Magic Kingdom

59 This Will Destroy Your Ears - Funland

60 The Easys - Feeling 101

61 The Len Price 3 - Misty Medway Magick

62 Jumbo Chords - Throw Away (Buy Another One)

63 Nick Frater - OH CONTRAIRE!

64 Lolas - Big Hits And Freak Disasters

65 Girl For Samson - Blend All The Seasons

66 Cherry Fez - SUPEREXCITED!

67 He's Dead Jim - Head Like A Toyshop

68 Them Elephants - Quattro

69 The Elbow Patches - Achingly Familiar

70 Drugs In Sport - If Only We Could Use These Powers For Good

71 Daily Worker - Field Holler

72 The Gripweeds - Soul Bender

73 Press Club - To All The Ones That I Love

74 Tristan Armstrong - The Lonely Avenue

75 Brass Camel - Camel

76 Skeleton Staff - HEPTO-ALTRUISM

77 Sector Frontier - Sector Frontier

78 The Radio Field - Air And Sunlight

79 Push Puppets - Tethered Together.

80 Sweet Nobody - Driving Off To Nowhere

81 The Shipbuilders - This Blue Earth

82 Soot Sprite - Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon

83 Shapes Like People - Ticking Haze

84 The Spindles - Wavelength

85 Shaw's Trailer Park - I Thought I Saw You

86 Foxy - Tonight Tonight

87 Feedbacks - Bring Back The Light

88 The Webstirs - High Up In The Trees

89 The Four Chords - First Idea / Best Idea

90 Lone Wolf - Dark Thoughts

91 The Velvoids - Jersey Cotton

92 Guerilla Toss - You're Weird Now

93 rincs - Swimming Pool Disco

94 Hamlet - Light Under Repair

95 Weird Bloom - Stargate

96 The Friends - Daydreaming

97 Greer - Big Smile

98 doublevee - Periscope At Midnight

99 Sura Laynes - Sura Laynes

100 Magic Fig - Magic Fig

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