I Don't Hear A Single Best 100 Albums Of 2025 : 71- 80

The Countdown continues. Here are numbers 71 - 80, a little later than usual. Numbers 61 - 70 will be up at an earlier UK time tomorrow.

With it being our 10th year we thought that we could back to the old images that were posted as a bit of fun with the Audio Extravaganzas. A reminder of the old, much quieter, days for us and hopefully a bit of fun for newcomers. 

71 Daily Worker - Field Holler      IDHAS Review

72 The Grip Weeds - Soul Bender      IDHAS Review

73 Press Club - To All The Ones That I Love      IDHAS Review

74 Tristan Armstrong - The Lonely Avenue      IDHAS Review

75 Brass Camel - Camel      IDHAS Review

76 Skeleton Staff - HEPTO-ALTRUISM      IDHAS Review

77 Sector Frontier - Sector Frontier    IDHAS Review

78   The Radio Field - Air And Sunlight     IDHAS Review

79 Push Puppets - Tethered Together      IDHAS Review

80 Sweet Nobody - Driving Off To Nowhere     IDHAS Review

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Push Puppets - Tethered Together.

 

Chicago's Push Puppets are back with their fourth album. The third made our Best Albums Of 2022, you can read the review of Allegory Grey here. It is great to have them back and as you might expect, Tethered Together is jam packed with Pop Rock goodness.

The stand out here is the arrangements. Wonderfully mellow songs with far more complex arrangements than you might expect. Vocally, there is still that Finn and Tilbrook vibe, the latter on the slower numbers, the latter on the jauntier songs.

The string quartet arrangements are superb and light up songs such as Probably, a song built on an ace Piano Pop Riff. All Together On 3 still sounds amazing, a little Caper Clowns with another sterling arrangement. 

Shake It Like You Mean It is almost Calypso in feel. With the majority of the album being superbly strings and keyboard led, it is also nice to hear the stripped down Acoustic arrangement on Hearts Are Fragile.

Similar is a great opener, pacy and more in your face and grabs your interest in the smoothness that you are about to hear. Launching A Satellite is a glorious song underling how lyrically adept the album is and adding a fine solo. Moody and magnificent.

There is a mellow feel to proceedings, but don't confuse that with boring. The strength here is in the songs and the arrangements. Beautifully sung, there is too much in these songs to just wash over you. Great Pop Rock is not easy to find. You will find it here.

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

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I Don't Hear A Single Albums Of The Year 2022 : 51-60

This year, the standard has been the highest since IDHAS began six and a half years ago. Narrowing things down to this 100 as been really difficult. For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to the IDHAS Review where you can find further details and how to listen or buy the album. 

A reminder that anything reviewed on I Don't Hear A Single is highly recommended. 

No 51 : Anyway Gang - Still Anyways     IDHAS Review

No 52 : Dungeon Of Skeletons - Patterns        IDHAS Review





No 53 : Frass Green - Buried    IDHAS Review





No 54 : Vanilla - Sideshow          IDHAS Review

No 55 : The Chemistry Set - Pink Felt Trip        IDHAS Review

 

No 56 : The Morning Line - Scene      IDHAS Review





No 57 : Push Puppets - Allegory Grey     IDHAS Review

No 58 :  Phil Thornalley - Now That I Have Your Attention    IDHAS Review

No 59 : Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard - Backhand Deals    IDHAS Review

   

No 60 : Wired Ways - Wired Ways         IDHAS Review

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Push Puppets - Allegory Grey

 

If there was a centre spot or focal point of where I Don't Hear A Single sits before it splits off, Push Puppets would be somewhere close by. Wherever IDHAS wanders, it always returns to the default of Pop Rock and albums in that genre always get the biggest follower interest.

The quartet from Palatine Illinois offer up an album of sheer melodic goodness. Beautifully played, with a variety to applaud, but never losing sight of the fact that sounding great is one thing, but the songs have to match that quality.

Both the songs and the arrangements stand out. Beautifully played by the group as a unit, every last drop of melody is wrung out of them. The choruses are top notch, but the verses may be even better, unusual twists and turns in the vocal delivery and Erich Specht also has a fine set of pipes.

So matching all these pluses to material with a wide variety of styles can be tricky, but Push Puppets more than manage it and what variety! Your Secret's Safe is great New Wave Guitar Pop with a slight party feel, yet Lightning In A Dress matches a Paul Simon like verse to a Tragically Hip type chorus.

Staring At The Sun is laid back West Coast Rock with a killer bass line. October Surprise is the epic ballad. Center Of The Storm could be Glenn Tilbrook doing Country Rock and Obvious matches a lounge verse with a killer Crowded House type chorus.

The match of great verses to unexpected choruses is extended to two best songs on the album. There's No One Else Like Lynette is an absolute earworm and Sometimes The Buds Never Flower may be the best Pop Rock song that I've heard all year. The latter's hook is unusually in the verse. Highly Recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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