Are you listening? This ain't no quiet thing
We're screaming out our lungs Hey! Are you listening?
Hey! Are you there? Hey! Are you listening? Or
do you just not care? It's the end of the year.
Are you listening? This is a podcast exploring
the past, present and future of Christian music.
My name is Joel. I'm here with my good friend,
Brandon, and we connected over a mutual love
of some different artists, but also have different
tastes that we enjoy along the way. And so we
get to experience some new stuff from each other.
And sometimes we invite some friends along for
the ride with that Brandon what's going on? I'm
doing really good. I was finishing up a cookie
before we started recording this I would eat
that cookie real fast and I feel Energized now
you're ready to go That's wonderful. I'm really
thankful. Hey today's a different kind of episode
for us Why don't you tell us a little bit about
what we're gonna do today? Yeah today It's super
exciting for me. So we're going to be listening
our favorite releases of 2025. It's something
I used to do every year growing up. I would put
it on Facebook and I think one person would be
like, cool. And so I just kind of stopped doing
it. But this year's been a really good... My
friend Miranda will be really excited that we're
releasing this because the first year I didn't
release it. She was like, where's the list? But
yeah, so this year was a really good like reason
to to jump back into it and I'm really excited
because You go into every year excited about
maybe like one or two releases and it's just
it's Sometimes it's so easy to forget just how
much stuff is out there and I mean even our list
today like we're both gonna be choosing 10 albums
that stood out to us or 10 releases and I mean
honestly it wouldn't be surprising if we really
if we discuss 20 different you know albums and
I feel like that's really cool um that there's
just so much music uh out there so I hope to
um I hope to share some music that everyone can
enjoy and I I'm really excited to get to learn
about some music that I can go home afterwards
and start enjoying. There might actually be a
good chance that none of ours overlaps. I'm excited
to see how that plays out kind of as we get into
this for sure. But before we kind of run down
that rabbit trail, what else do we need to talk
about? Is there anything else we need to cover?
Oh yeah, we've got a game we're playing. Oh nice.
For a second I was like, oh man, I don't know
what we're talking about. I'm glad you were able
to point at our game. So, you know, this year
has been really exciting that we got to... you
know accurate accurately predict the skillet
christmas single yes we did we did um that was
a world premiere from hey are you listening yeah
so we're just we're gonna double down on that
and we are going to predict some more stuff from
2026 awesome it's gonna happen so you know in
the past couple of years we've been seeing a
lot of bands return it'll be like a reboot of
a band or maybe their front man steps away and
um they bring someone else in So what we're going
to do today is that we have a pile of bands that
are either on hiatus or they have disbanded,
and then we're also going to have a bowl of front
men and women who are going to step in and now
leave these bands. We're going to make some bold
predictions. Oh, we are. So if you want to, Joel,
I can draw the band. You can tell us who is going
to be leading this. That sounds good. Let's do
this. All right. Let's start off with Hawk Nelson.
So Hawk Nelson is coming back. Are they officially
like done? That's funny. I think because Jason's
doing his own thing. And then I think the rest
of them kind of just disbanded whenever John
left the band. So yeah, I don't think they've
they have Hawk Nelson has not performed since
John. I think that maybe an original member too
have performed with Jason just like at random
shows. But yeah, they're coming back in 2026.
Joel. Okay. Well, let me just let you know who
is going to be taking over this. Who's going
to be singing some punk pop. Who's going to be
upfront for this. It is going to be Brandon Lake.
Brandon Lake. Um, but there's no way that's going
to happen. Can we make a prediction on our prediction?
Um, yeah. Are you, are you, okay. Let's, um,
Are you buying that ticket? Are you skipping
it? I'm hardcore skipping that. Plus, it wouldn't
financially make sense for Brandon Lake who's
at the top of his game as a solo artist to join
a band that has been successful but nowhere to
the degree that he is as a solo artist. Do you
think that you're gonna see more of a Brandon
Lake so it's Hawk Nelson going full kind of worship
mode or I mean Are we gonna see Brandon Lake
branch out and go into pop punk? Yeah, um, I
don't I don't know Brandon lake is on the swing
right now Uh into like the mainstream and I don't
know that hawk nelson is the avenue to get him
there, but I guess we'll find out All right.
The next band is me without you So a few years
ago, they're kind of like, you know, they they
haven't disbanded. They're just kind of on hiatus
right now people are clamoring for them to come
back for a reunion show so it looks like instead
of a reunion show we're gonna get a full reboot
um so Joel can you tell me so we're used to people
have listened to me without you you know it's
like storytelling they're screaming like me without
you is just they're their own thing post hardcore
yeah so you're gonna have albums that are about
like circus train derailing and animals running
away, you're going to have stuff that's dealing
with questioning faith, then you're going to
have songs that are just like praising Jesus.
So, a little bit of everything. So, who is taking
the helm of Me Without You? Well, it's interesting
that I get to announce that the new lead singer,
Me Without You... I don't know that Me Without
You can exist without their current lead singer,
but the new lead singer is Jason Dunn, formerly
of Hawk and Olsen. Man, that could be interesting.
Yeah. I guess. I don't know. So you're a big
Jason Dunn fan personally. So what are your thoughts
on that one? Man, I think that some of those
could be pretty good. I'm for some reason I'm
thinking of messes of men him singing it um and
I feel like Jason always kind of liked that grittier
side of it so yeah I I don't know I think that
concert's gonna be interesting because you have
a mix of some of like punk's me like a huck nelson
and some of covers of huck and I just don't know
what the new me without you stuff's gonna sound
like yeah yeah I'm not sure how well we're doing
this yet, but we'll see how it goes as we keep
moving. All right, our next one, Family Force
V. OK. So they're coming back. You know, I'm
excited about this one to see. Because, you know,
they're all over the place. Well, Soglo was a
lot of dancing, jumping around when Kruton took
the helm. um it turned into maybe more of like
a like a pop side of it so i mean we could have
pop we could have just screamo uh who's taking
the helm of family force five brandon you're
gonna love this one if i can pronounce it correctly
francesca battistelli oh wow that's uh that's
certainly interesting it's an interesting choice
for them um for sure i feel like it might lean
them a little more in the pop direction um just
musically i when i think of francesca i think
of like piano right i almost think of like piano
covers of like love addict and country gentleman
and i don't know yeah This has been a fun experiment
so far. Oh, it looks like the next band returning
in 2026, DC Talk. So we're gonna need three names
out of there, Joel. Three? Yeah, so we're gonna
need, I mean, DC Talk was you had your three
front men. Can there not be any original members?
No, they're all, Toby's doing his thing, the
others are doing their thing. All right, so the
new frontman of DC talk are David Crowder Do
you think do you think he's like the the Kevin
Maxx of the group? I can see that working. Okay.
I'm I'm there so far Andy Meneo Okay, so he's
like the Toby of the group sure and Jamie grace
Man that's that's a That's interesting So Crowder,
Andy Menio, Jamie Grace. Brandon, I'm hoping
that we're wrong on pretty much all of these
so far. This will make you happier, Joel. What
about audio adrenaline? Okay. So they're going
to be rebooted for about the seventh time. Oh
my goodness. I thought about putting Kevin Maxx
in that ball just for this one. That would have
been fitting. We've got John Van Dusen, who's
gonna be leading audio adrenaline. And honestly,
if there's anybody that's up to the task, I feel
like it's JVD. So you think this is the first
one that you'd buy a ticket to that show? I would.
And I actually think it could work. Okay. Yeah.
All right. Next one we have All Star United.
Um, so no, Joel, I think this is the band you're
a little more interested in. So what, um, what
qualities does this artist need to bring to this
band? So Austin United has a real, um, kind of
pop, um, pop rock, uh, like Weezer kind of vibe.
And so there needs to be some good energy, some
anthems and all that kind of stuff and so oh
we've got tim skipper oh who's going to be fronting
all -star united and it could totally work okay
it could totally work it looks like we're starting
to turn the corner a little bit yeah that would
be one that you would go to yeah you would be
there there we go i've bought a ticket to that
one part of me kind of wants to get a ticket
to all of these so far but i don't know if i
want to go to all of them um next one cool hand
luke um Another one, Joel, what qualities do
we expect from this artist? Yeah, so Kool and
Luke's kind of ranged from some pretty like screamo
to emo to indie rock, almost Coldplay -esque
radiohead along the course. And so you definitely
need someone who can be emotional in what they're
bringing to the table. And we've got Kristal.
Yeah, my friend Mark Nix from Cool and Luke.
I don't know how he would take that if Chris
Tomlin took the reins. All right, Luke. Our final
special announcement is OC Supertones. So this
is ska. This is man. I'm trying to think how
would you maybe like? Differentiate them from
like five iron frenzy. So maybe they're the mighty
mighty ballstones of christian scott. Okay, um
pretty like standard third wave, um upbeats Um,
yeah, so it's it's almost like a a little bit
of like a rap Singing, okay kind of thing that
you got going on So it'll take the right person
and honestly phil wickem Maybe it could be that
person. I don't really know. So that would be
interesting. I'm just amazed that some of these
high profile solo artists from today are willing
to step into some of these bands that are coming
back together. But maybe they're bands that they
loved growing up and influenced them in a big
way. And so they see it as a real opportunity
to bring to light some of the stuff that's impacted
them. And I'm still thinking about that DC talk.
I think I'm out on that one. I would definitely
sign up to go see the OG DC talk, but maybe not.
Maybe not what we've got there. Well, before
we start talking about our 2025 Brandon, what
have you been listening to lately? So I've been
listening to, um, um, honestly, make it like
I'm working on this has been taking up a ton
of like a ton of my listening time. But one I
found myself adding a bunch from for my Christmas
playlist this year is I don't know how many people
are are are familiar with like the X series that
like BEC records and like Tooth and Nell did.
So it was like a collection of like I mean you
had like I guess it's like kind of this overarching
capital Christian music group So it's like tooth
and nail solid state goatee Flicker records forefront
in pop They did this Christmas album together
And it's really cool. So it has I'll go through
a couple. It's like Jingle Bell Rock thousand
foot crutch They've got his favorite Christmas
story about capital lights really good Christmas
song, and I think my favorite version of this
song ever is Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
by The James Reunion. I think it is the best
version of that song that I can think of, so
I find myself every year adding Um, like those
couple at least to my playlist Yeah, um, you
also have some fun ones like felice navi dodd
david crowder band jars of clay fm static august
burns red so it's a really Pretty good mixture
of A little bit of everything on there. So I
always really enjoy that so i've been kind of
going back to that one You probably should have
compared the august burns red christmas Album
to the striper christmas album that we just reviewed
as in two metal Christmas records and seeing
how they fanned out. If I remember correctly,
I think this one is all just instrumental. They're
Carol of the Bells. Okay. And so I remember like
playing it and I kept waiting. Yeah. And then
I just know, I was like, oh, I guess this is
just all continental. Carol of the Bells fits
well with, I feel like, metal. So yeah. Yeah,
for me, a few weeks ago we had our our friend
Ty from Ty Garvey from John Zetta on and he mentioned
a record that he'd been listening to, Love Like
Raindrops Made of Light and that's an album by
Young Oceans that had just come out I think right
when we were talking and so I added that. I've
been listening to that and that's been a cool
listen. There's a lot of, it's mostly like pretty
chill um acoustic but there's like a lot of sonic
scape around it and so it's um it's a really
interesting listen and some really good really
good songwriting and so i have some young ocean
stuff on like some of my playlists like advent
playlists and different things but um but i've
really enjoyed listening to that like new record
that they put out so i need to throw something
out i just realized that james reunion you won't
take a while guess who their drummer was No.
Jared Meyers. I feel like I need to reach out
and be like, Jared, is that your drums I'm listening
to on that one? I don't even know what James
Reunion is. Is it like a super group? I don't
know. On some of those samplers, they would just
pull together random people from different bands
and get them to record a song. And so I wonder
if it was just... random people. I thought we
need, there's so much that Jared would just throw
out when he was in his interview. And I'd be
like, can we, can we pause for a second and dive
a little more into this? So I feel like we touched
on all of his big, like the big bands he was
in. We just need to come back into like, let's
go into all these smaller bands that you played
for. We're gonna have to have Jared back. I did
just notice that Bleach just got announced for
Audio Feed for 2026, that music festival that
happens in Illinois. summer and that's one that
I've been like threatening to go to for several
years now and so maybe this is my moment that
John Van Dusen's played the last two years and
I haven't gone and of course this will probably
be the year he doesn't play um but um I've just
never heard someone say I've been threatening
to go I have been Do we need to inform the concert
that like, hey, Joel's been threatening for a
while. So he might be... My summers are just
so busy that it's hard to like add another thing
to them. So it hasn't really worked out. I kind
of wish it was like in the fall or something
instead, but I'd love to go. It's kind of like
the new cornerstone. So it'd be fun to check
it out. Well, let's dig into our top 10. album
discussion for 2025. And Brandon, I would love
it if you kind of guide us through this. You
had the idea for us to kind of talk through some
of these records, so. Yeah, so I think it's really
cool to dive in because I think that like for
both of us, music plays such a big role. And
I think I think people listening to this, like
if music is not important to you, you're not
be listening to a music podcast. um so i think
it's a great way like i said earlier to highlight
stuff that has meant a lot to us um and get to
share that but also get to learn some other stuff
we should be checking out um so yeah i feel like
it's it's cool just to dive in um and give a
little bit of here's some albums that we felt
like you know either just sounded great or on
a personal level just really like hit us or whatever
um so i will say that like for the first time
ever I included EPs on my list because I used
to always have a rule that it had to be an album
and an album is minimum 10 songs so like I used
to be very strict on I don't care if it's nine
songs you're not an album you're just a weird
long EP so this year I decided to add some EPs
on just because I found myself like enjoying
just these like random little pop -up releases
um and so and i feel like i was thinking to myself
sometimes it's harder to do that with an ep because
you only have like three or four opportunities
to enjoy it versus the album it's like if you
have a 15 song album you can have five songs
on there that are bad but you still are packing
10 songs you know like two -thirds of the album's
awesome um so yeah so i guess i'll go in i know
Let me give a kind of opening thought to you
on this. And so I know that this is a podcast
about the past, present and future of Christian
music. But Christian music isn't the only music
that I listen to. And so when I put together
a top 10 list of albums for me over the last
year, that includes everything that I listen
to. And so I would say looking into this, probably,
let me see. Six out of my ten actually fall into
that category But there are a few a few secular
records that have stood out to me in a big way
this year So I'm covering it all we're going
everywhere No, I think that's good too because
I mean there's there's stuff on here like I mean
There's one that we'll eventually get to that
they have like an explicit song on there, which
I feel like it's I don't know growing up we were
taught there like levels of bad words so I remember
when I saw the explicit I was like so that's
not like like a level one bad word but I was
like I guess the record labels disagree on Brandon
with Brandon um so like I feel like that's cool
because like yeah you don't want to be sitting
here and have someone be like wow they only said
Jesus five times on this uh or whatever and I
mean there's there's out there's bands out there
that aren't Christian at all and sometimes they'll
release stuff that, like, I remember one time
there was a Green Day track I was listening to,
and all of those members are very, like, clear
about being, like, agnostic, you know, at the
least. And I remember years ago there was a track
they released, and I listened to it and I was
like, it's so weird that as a Christian, I agree
so much, like, with what they're saying. The
difference is that I'm like, yeah, that's why
we need more Jesus, whereas they're like, yeah,
we need less of. So I find it interesting that
sometimes you have bands that have a lot of...
dropping a lot of Jesus in the lyrics, and there's
really not a ton there. And then you have some
bands that are not Christian at all, but they're
releasing stuff that's, in my opinion... very
good for faith or ask questions that point someone
towards Jesus. Do you want to go first or you
may go first? I'll let you take us start this
whole thing. Well, first off, I'm going to come
out the gates with... We're starting with 10
and counting down, right? Yeah. Okay, cool. It
would be kind of boring if it was like... Okay,
here's my top nine. Tenth one just made it here.
So, number 10 on my list is Mount Zion by Josiah
Queen. Okay. So, I first heard Josiah via his
cover of Jesus Freak, and I'm not really sure
what category this album falls under, because
there's people that are saying he's like in the
folk category, some people saying he's in the
worship category, and I think what's nice about
this album is that it just like, I don't know
what category it falls under, but it feels authentic.
So, I find myself just really, really enjoying
it, and as someone who usually pushes back on
some stuff that's like labeled worship, I find
myself thinking like, yeah, like I don't think
this stuff isn't doing what I... sometimes disagree
with that genre. I just found it very authentic.
Also bonus points because they featured Gable
Price on a track. And by the way, on each of
these, I kind of highlight a track that I'm like,
this is my favorite track, or if you just check
out a track on here. And then my favorite track,
it would be Thief in the Night. It features Gable
Price. I feel like it's not as like... maybe
on the radar as the other ones, like Steal My
Joy or whatever, or Dusty Bibles. But yeah, that's
my number 10 album right there. Cool. That's
good. That's one I need to check out. I know
I see Josiah Queen everywhere, but I haven't
spent a lot of time digging into his music. And
so I will go with your song recommendation and
check that one out. So number 10 for me is a
band that I've been listening to probably For
around the last 10 years or so and that's a band
called Lord Huron And they just put out an album
back in July called the cosmic selector volume
one. Mm -hmm and My favorite record by Lord Huron
is an album called strange trails It's just a
killer album from beginning to end. There's so
many good songs on it And they're kind of like
an indie, they're hard to describe. Like we,
during COVID we went, my family went camping
a lot. And if there was any music that to me
felt perfect for riding through the mountains,
it was Lord Huron. their music's just like grounded
and earthy and but yet indie rock and like Elvis
influence like it's a weird combination of things
but it's so so good and I feel like some of their
recent albums have been kind of a just a miss
for me but the Cosmic Selector just kind of brought
it back to the forefront for me and it felt like
yeah this is this is who this band is this is
their sound and so a great place to start to
try listening to that album is just starting
from the beginning the first track looking back
i feel like captures their sound and brings it
into 2025 in a cool way but they're they're they're
phenomenal phenomenal band that i highly recommend
so that's cool they're they're on my list of
whenever i have time to like check out My best
friend Keith, this is like one of his favorite
bands. They've went and seen him live, I think
a couple of times. And what's funny is that Strange
Trails album, so I feel like it's probably, it
might be their biggest, I don't know if it's
their biggest or not, but the night we met. So
what's funny is that was used as, whenever Delle
Reinhardt Jr. was retiring, Budweiser put out
this this ad basically like the whole like story
of del junior's like career and they used that
song on there so like just imagine like seven
eight years ago or whatever just like me sitting
there like crying as i'm watching this like race
car going around and like listening the night
we met and so we used to always have this running
joke me and keith like at the concert they were
gonna like have him like drive out this like
Race car on the stage and I'm sitting there thinking
like I know that's the del jr. Song and everyone's
like it's what are you talking about? that uh
that song will totally do it and Yeah, they're
that's such such a good such a good song and
such a great album So but yeah, I've really enjoyed
their new one too. It's been great My next one
is, it's an artist you introduced me to. It's,
as long as I'm in the tent of this body, I will
make a joyful noise by John Van Dusen. I don't
know if you get bonus points or deduct points
for having a name that long, but I'll leave that
to the listeners. As someone who like, yeah,
I guess it goes back to like the Josiah Queen
that I feel like a lot of people kind of put
some of John Van Dusen's stuff into a worship
category, if that's fair. But as someone who
isn't the biggest listener of that, I found myself
really loving this album. And I just felt like
it had a lot that is missing from a lot of modern
worship songs. And I guess it's kind of echoing
what I said about Mount Zion, but I just felt
like it was kind of like, it's almost like you're
going through his journal. Yeah, like if you
if you told me right now that you're like, oh,
yeah each track of this is like a day He wrote
about you know, or whatever Um, like I would
believe you like it just felt like this was I
want to tell these stories and i'm gonna tell
them like it's not I want to cut out this because
the record label needs me to Do something a little
more like this or whatever. Um My favorite track
on this was anything other than what I am right
now. Yeah, it's a great one I'll have more to
say on this album later. I figured. But yes,
you do. You feel like John is inviting you into
like a personal conversation that he's having
with God. And for an album to be so... It's like
a personal worship record. These aren't songs
you would sing corporately in church. but it's
like a personal worship record and being invited
into those intimate moments somehow, it never
comes across as like cheesy, but it always feels
really genuine and authentic and I love it. Yeah,
I'll talk more about that in a little bit. Number
nine for me is an album by a band named Anxious
and I didn't know anything about this band until
In 2024, I went to Furnace Fest and was listening
to the bands that were going to be playing at
Furnace Fest just so that I could see who do
I want to go see when I show up. And I caught
some of their music and was instantly like, yes,
this is really good. It's like... 2000s Midwest
emo mixed with a little bit of like a modern
sound and a little more production. And that
Midwest emo sound is like the sound of my band
days, my touring days. It's just like, I'm always
going to have a super special place in my heart
for it. And so to hear like a young band tackle
that has been cool. So they put out an album
called Bambi. in 2025 and it's really good. It's
their second record and they're a super tight
band. Do a lot melodically, a lot musically.
There's a lot of cool like time signature stuff
and they're just they're really really good and
it's a great record. So I recommend Again, I
mentioned this before, but like, start at the
beginning, never said Bambi's theme, there's
a song Counting Sheep that I think was the first
single, and so they're a really, really, really
fun band. That's really cool. So my number eight
is the Everything You Ever Wanted EP by Grace
Graber. Okay, um, I really hope i've been like
telling people to listen to her music But I don't
know if i've ever heard someone say her name.
So I hope it's not like a great bear or something.
Yeah um, but this this ep It it took me back
to the mid -2000s and like for all the right
reasons um, and I feel like grace she really
captures that sound and like she does a really
amazing job of um like Putting her own spin on
that. So it's like she's blending the present
with nostalgia And I think that's that's really
cool because that's that's I I love that genre
like this like 2000s like pop punk or whatever
But it's it's something they can honestly it
can grow Like you can get tired of it pretty
quick. And um, so like it made me When I was
thinking of kind of like placing this I kind
of thought to myself like it was really good
but like I wonder What would it look like if
there would have been six more like of these
tracks on here? But there weren't so it just
made it to like number eight my favorite track
on this was she does a cover of everything you
ever wanted by Hawk Nelson and just does it like
really really well and And I think just a track
like that like I think for a lot of people like
that and zero were two tracks that just a lot
of people felt like That's that's me. They're
singing about me. Yeah So it's just cool and
you can take a track that is it has a really
personal feel And make people love it instead
of just you know wanting to turn off and run
back to hawk nelson's version Yeah, that's cool.
You're gonna have to send that one to me Um,
so that I can check that out, um, because I haven't
listened to any of her stuff yet, but I would
be really interested, um, I think to, to be able
to do that. So number eight for me, um, um, a
band that I've loved for a while, The Head and
the Heart, um, put out a new album called Aperture,
um, this, this year. And, um, I don't know if
you've ever listened to The Head and the Heart,
but their self -titled album, The Head and the
Heart. is one of my favorite records of all time.
There's not a bad song on it. You feel like you're
in the room with them on that entire record in
a beautiful way. It just feels really present
and it feels like just a group of people that
love each other sitting around singing songs
together. the harmonies and the melodies and
like everything just works so well on it. And
then they kept releasing albums that were like
more full band and more production. And it just
like, it felt like it was lacking something that
was present in the beginning and it wasn't really
working as much. And then when this album aperture
came out this year, I felt like they recaptured
some of that original sound on this record where
they're able to boil it down to let's stand on
top of the hill in Hollywood with they did this
live like recording with LA in the background
just with the guitar and vocals and just create
something beautiful and And this album just does
it really well. And so I highly recommend it,
especially if you were a fan of the Head in the
Heart or want to check them out. I think it's
a good place to start. I love the first track
after the Setting Sun or Arrow. There's a lot
of really great songs on this album. And so it's
probably my second favorite album by the Head
in the Heart. That's really cool. I feel like
it's cool when you have a band that kind of recaptures.
Because I know there was a release this year
that I was so excited for, couldn't wait for
it. And some of the like singles leading up to
it, I was like, I don't know, I like this, but
I don't like this. And when it came out, I just
found myself not really like it was if you would
have asked me back in March or April, I would
have told you, man, that's definitely going to
be top three, like in my favorite albums. And
instead, it's ends up not even being on my top
10, like it wasn't even considered like to make
it on there. So I feel like it's cool whenever
you have a band that starts going back in that
direction instead of wait, I'll wait till the
next one. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I really, really
love that one. That's awesome. Moving into number
seven. So my, uh, my seventh favorite album of
the year is heaven on my mind by Toby Mack. Um,
For me, I really love learning the background
behind an album. To me, it means a lot when I
know what are they going for. Back in the day
when I first found out about Jack White, it was
so cool where it would be, yeah, he's recording
this on machines from the 70s. Stuff like that
where I'm like, I love this album so much more
because I'm like... hey do you know to get this
sound they had to like put so many amps around
this piece of metal and hit it with this thing
to like create the sound that didn't exist you
know whatever um and with this one it's it's
really interesting because it's it's on the heels
of his son passing but as well as his like best
friend Gabe and anyone who has ever been to like
a Toby Mac show or knows Toby like Gabe was always
there and all um and so for me like I just find
this album super like genuine and I just think
it's like it just feels as though this is what
like Toby's going through these moments of like
praise but then these moments of like man I'm
still walking through this or hey if you're if
you're here with me right now I'm I'm with you
like I'm you know we were talking about that
recently um just when people's going through
something not just saying well like god's got
this or like i've been there um but like just
being genuine and just being like hey like if
you need to talk i'm here and um i just i i really
appreciate that about the album and um just just
coming from that and um so yeah and i feel like
too it's just with every With any like Toby album,
you're gonna get a little bit of everything on
there and I just always appreciate that Not every
album is gonna be the same and there's some albums
that aren't as popular as others because it's
him being like Well, this is what's popular right
now and I'm gonna make four tracks like that.
Yeah, and um, so yeah, but I Yeah, it was number
seven favorite track was rear view. I felt like
it was kind of like felt like a kind of like
an older to like the toby mac that I really started
enjoy this almost like I guess hip -hop -esque
type thing that's a little like deeper than like
some of the other ones um yeah that's cool i
don't think i even knew that toby put out an
album this year So you need to keep me educated
more. I need to What's going on whenever they
used to come out of life where they'd be like
five dollars Yeah, I'd buy a couple and I would
just whenever someone's like he's got an album.
I'd be like here it is. I Love that my track
or album number seven is the album anything at
all by Denison Whitmer. I don't know if you've
ever really listened to Denison Whitmer, but
he was a late 90s, early 2000s like singer -songwriter,
kind of from the world of like Sufjan and that
category. But I think was, I want to say originally
on like BEC, but he has like kind of a 70s folk
sound and I just love his voice and his melodies
and so I think for a guy like him to come in
2025 and release an album like this is pretty
astounding to me because in a lot of ways I think
it's some of his best songwriting that he's ever
done. and in fact the first song on the album
is called Focus Ring and it's the whole record
I think is produced by Sufjan but Focus Ring
is two minutes and 28 seconds. It's a short song
but I honestly think it's a masterpiece in songwriting
and I think it's probably my song of the year
for 2025. That's really cool. My favorite song
that's come out and It's one of the best songs
that I've ever heard, just to be honest, and
I highly recommend everybody go check it out.
It's a perfect song, and it starts off a great
album by Dennis and Whitmer, and so that's number
seven for me. That's really cool. Number six
for me is Breach by 21 Pilots. Feel I feel like
I get labeled as a huge 21 pilots fan but honestly
their stuff can be very hit or miss like even
blurry face I I bought that album and liked a
couple of tracks, but it wasn't probably a year
into having it that I actually sat down and Really
started to appreciate what that album was. Yeah,
and um, I feel like breach was kind of the same
way where it came out I listened a little bit
of it and just like kind of didn't get around
to it but with the list came in up it kind of
motivated to jump into it. But I really appreciated
what they did on this album. And I think as a
whole, like not every track always like is a
hit for me, but I appreciate that they're always
stretching creatively. And I think even in this
one, like there's stuff where it'd be so easy
just to kind of do like a blurry face part two
or like a, I think scale it and I see was there.
Last one before this one. Yeah like it'd be so
easy to do that, but I think they're always kind
of stretching and So yeah for me for me this
one it fells in number six Favorite track was
drum show So I really enjoyed it cool My number
six is the new album from Tyson Motzenbacher
modern worries and I've loved everything that
Tyson has put out Um, as an artist, um, been
a big, been a big fan of all that. And he, um,
put out this record this year. It's an interesting
album in a lot of ways. It's, it's got a theme,
uh, like it's called modern worries. And so the
theme of the album is like, what are things that
we should be concerned or worried about in the
modern world that we, that we live in today?
And so a lot of it is about the internet and
how the internet's dangerous. Um, and, um, but.
He has a song in there called I don't want to
be on the internet anymore. Um, um, and so it's
interesting, but he, there's also like a, um,
uh, what's sort of like an audio book in the
middle of the album, two tracks called Nathan
one and Nathan two about the dangers of the internet.
Um, but it's like, uh, uh, like a Dr. Seuss book,
um, taking the internet and putting it down in
a kid's story about how dangerous it is. It's
really weird. But outside of the weirdness of
that, the album works really well. And so songs
like I Will and Minor Love, and he has a great,
there's a great track later in the album called
I'm Doing My Best. And it's just about his struggles
with Christianity in a modern world. And so he
just says, Jesus, I'm doing my best. I'm trying.
I want to keep believing. I want to keep following.
But we've got some struggles. And so it's a really,
really, it's been a really good record I've enjoyed.
I've enjoyed spending time with it this year.
Number five on my list. So we're moving into
the top five is Music on the Shelf by the Rocky
Valentines. This album, it felt like like a time
machine, like it's really nostalgic. Yeah. And
the way I see it is so Charles Martin, he's the
son of Jason Martin from Star Flyer 59. For those
who don't know, I feel like he falls in his dad's
footsteps, but he also blazes his own trail.
Yeah. And I really love that about this album
is that you you could hear the oh, man, this
feels like it is associated with Starfly 59,
but it's not just a, Oh, let me go grab some
songs. My dad hasn't recorded. You put it out
there. Um, and I just, I, I really appreciate
that. Um, cause Starfly are like, I've, I've,
I've known people that they'll pick up, uh, I
very much disagree with this as I know you do,
but they'll be like, well, if you've heard one
of their songs, you've heard them all. And, um,
and I, I think to a certain degree, if you don't
know the band. I can see how you kind of think
this one sounds like this one or whatever, but
I think that he just does a good job of that
this album, you know, you're still enjoying it
come to the end. You're not waiting for it to
get over. My favorite track on here is a track
called The Clock Says It's Noon. Yeah, this one
I think falls in an honorable mention category
for me. It's probably my number 11. I didn't
quite make the list, but it's a great, great
album and I really have enjoyed it this year
and spent a decent amount of time with it too.
And so I wanted it to be on there, but I just
couldn't make it. Yeah, just couldn't make it
happen. But I really do enjoy that record by
the Rocky Valentine's as well. Yeah, it's really
good so my number five for me is a live album
a liturgy a legacy and the songs of rich Mullins
by Andrew Peterson and friends And so this, I've
talked about this on the podcast before, but
a few years ago, Andrew Peterson decided to do
a whole concert kind of in two parts of Rich
Mullins music. The first part is just some of
his favorite Rich Mullins songs. And then the
second half is basically a kind of note for note
cover of Liturgy, Legacy, and Ragamuffin Band
by Rich Mullins. And man, I have just loved going
back and listening to this and hearing. There's
different voices on here, not just Andrew Peterson.
Lee Nash from Sixpence sings on this. And it's
really well done and really well produced. And
I really love, I've loved listening to this and
kind of reliving this, the songs of Rich Mullins,
but my favorite. album by rich mullins as well
and so i'm super thankful that um andrew peterson
decided to to put this out and make it happen
that's really cool that's um i didn't get you
didn't get around a chance to to listening to
it but that's definitely on my listen listen
yeah i don't know why i said that twice my listen
listen yeah my listen listen there's my listen
list there's listen listen So my fourth favorite
album or release is the St. Augustine EP by a
band called Small Town Poets. Oh, here we are.
We are in the EPs. Yeah. And Small Town Poets
appears. Oh my goodness. Yeah. I had never heard
of this band before. And so like I always Like
I follow a lot of Jesus Freak Hideout, just kind
of keeping up releases. And this was one that
popped up and I was just trying to listen to
as many albums as I could reasonably, because
I'm always afraid that I'm going to miss something
and love it. And this one, I think it has like
four and a half stars. And I'm like... Well,
if they think it's that good, like, let me go,
like, check it out. Because a lot of indie stuff,
like, you know, this is the kind of stuff you
don't, you know, they might have 3000 monthly
listeners on eBay, on Spotify. But yeah, this
album, it has such an 80s vibe, which it had
me really confused why I was loving it so much.
Because usually that kind of stuff, it's just
kind of like an eye roll almost for me. but it
was just it's such a fun listen like it was just
so catchy and like the the lyrics were so good
and like they were just like there was so much
condensed without like like overstaying their
welcome yeah um and this is this another one
that i think like if it if it would have been
a whole album i don't know how i feel but i think
that the i believe it was six tracks like it
just had all of that. It was fun. It had more
serious stuff. It had one, it's called Florida
Man, so it's about basically just talking about
the legacy or legend of the Florida man and all.
My favorite track on this one was All the Voices.
That's fun. So Small Town Poets was a 90s forefront
band. And their first album, which was self -titled,
I listened to like crazy. They were kind of like
the Christian Jen Blossoms. And the Jen Blossoms
were a band that I loved a ton back in middle
school and high school. And so when they came
out, man, I was all in on Small Town Poets. And
I haven't checked that out. So I need to listen
to that. In fact, my band Bellador... recorded
our record with a guy named Matt Goldman in Atlanta,
and Matt was the drummer for Small Town Boats.
I don't know that he still is, but he was at
that point in time. And so that's kind of a cool
thing, but I love that. So my number four is
the album forever phase by Paul Meany Which I
don't know if you ever got around to listening
to that one Brandon, but Paul is was the lead
singer of the band mute math and He is the producer
for 21 pilots and Has done a lot of stuff with
21 pilots. Mm -hmm. And so as someone who loves
21 pilots I think you would absolutely adore
this album. Mm -hmm um by him but um i have really
really enjoyed listening to ed i was a huge mute
math fan and um really bummed that they haven't
made music in a while they're a band from new
orleans um but paul um putting out his first
solo record um man it's it's good and um and
i love that he's really upfront about his faith
on it um and um I just really if you ever listen
to mute math or maybe you're into the 21 pilot
sound or I don't know you just like a guy that
can sing like crazy and just his vocals are amazing
and he's such a great record so I highly highly
highly recommend and you can just go to the first
track hold the record and get a sense of what
the whole album is like It's really great stuff.
That's awesome. Well, now we're moving into the
top three. So I'm pretty excited to see what
was on the podium or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I'm pretty excited to see. So first off, it
is kind of like Small Town Poets. It's a band
I'd never heard of. but saw they got, they were
highlighted on Jesus Freak Hideout and I saw
them pop up on Velvet Blue, which I think this
makes Rocky Valentine's, I think they're on Velvet
Blue too. So this one is This World Ain't Mine
to Change by Fepeste. This album, it's just so
simple. Like it just, it feels like this guy
just I picture them being in an old house and
Jason Martin just bringing like a tape recorder
recording it but it's just like it's so like
like raw like both musically and lyrically like
it just feels like it's so unrehearsed but like
in all the right ways like it just feels like
this was all just one take and it's just a guy
like having a Bunch of like scattered pages or
whatever picking up and singing up, but it's
just so It's just so cool and like with something
that's so simple like You're you're always afraid
that you're gonna like like lose something with
time And this was one that I loved and I was
almost afraid to go back and listen because I'm
like Is it gonna drop down or be like this was
this is you listen to it once and you're over?
um but i feel like it still holds up like i feel
like the songs i felt catchy was still held up
i think the lyrics that i still felt like hitting
me still hit me whenever i um listened to it
um my favorite track was be forgotten and i'm
pretty sure it's the opener on the album um but
it's just this like group vocals and just this
very like short little minute and a half maybe
two minute track But yeah, I love that album.
I remember you mentioning them before, and I
still haven't checked them out. And so I've got
to go do that. I've got to go do that. It makes
you feel better, Joel. There's been about seven
artists so far that's been like, have you checked
those ones out yet? Oh, they're on the listen,
listen, listen list. Listen, listen, listen list.
Yeah, that's a good list. All right. So my track
three would be no surprise or album three would
be no surprise to people that know me. My favorite
band of the last 20 years is the band Wilco.
And they have loved every album pretty much that
they've put out pretty much. And such a soundtrack
to my like last even more 25 years probably.
And so their lead singer Jeff Tweedy just put
out a solo record. He's put out a few, but his
newest one is called Twilight Override. And it
is a triple album. So there are three albums
that make up the album Twilight Override. And
it's the best solo record that he's ever put
out by far. And it, man, is It's just a master
class in songwriting and creativity. And the
band that he put together to record this and
tour this is made up of his two sons and some
of their friends. And so it's cool. It's a real
family affair. And really, really creative and
wild in a lot of ways. And so I love a bunch
of songs on it. But one of my favorites that's
just kind of a Jam song is the start of a disc
three It's called Lou Reed was my babysitter
And it's a great great great great song great
album. So I'm always here for Jeff Tweedy and
Wilco So moving into my top two this one I felt
like these two from like the real the very start
Like I knew they were gonna be like One or two
just more I listen like they separate themselves
and I feel like honestly depending on the day
they might be like switched And so but for today,
this is the order they're in So my number two
favorite release of this year is 77 part one
by colony house. Yeah until this year. I had
no idea who colony house was it wasn't until
July that we happened to be—our church took some
of our kids to summer camp, and they're having,
like, their field day or whatever, and on their
playlist they start playing, playing, would you,
could you by Colony House. And I was like, that's
a pretty catchy song. So, like, I type it in.
I'm like, Colony House. I've heard of that. I've
heard that name before. Yeah. And it just started
this this road of going down and just like loving
the band and so they released 77 part one and
from my understanding this release is a little
divisive among Colony House fans but like I loved
it. It's a mix of like this super fun stuff but
also just like a super serious side and like
I love that because I feel like growing up like
I love bands that could do both like it life
isn't all like sunshine and all but it's also
not all rain so it's like I don't want to listen
to a band that's all all depressing or whatever
um but yeah I feel like the um like the mood
also changes before it kind of overstays so before
it starts getting labeled as a this is too too
light -hearted or cheesy like it you'll have
like a shift so I really appreciated them um
And also, I got to see them live, and I think
what was so cool was that all of the songs from
this that they played live translated well. And
there are so many times that I'll love a song
and I hear it live and I go, ooh, that's... I
don't care for that. So I feel like that's just
bonus points. My favorite track was the opener,
Telephone Pole. And I think for me, that's probably
my track of the year. I think that it just stands
out as just a song that I've listened to it so
many times and it still hits me every time I
listen to it. Yeah, that's cool. I don't know
how you missed Silhouettes back in the day. It
was a massive, massive song. I was too busy listening
to Toby Mac. I guess so. Yeah, Colony House is
a great band. I haven't checked out the new one
yet, but... Um, I'll do that for sure. Um, so
my number two is one that you've already mentioned.
As long as I am in the tent of this body, I will
make a joyful noise. Part one by John Van Dusen.
I'm hoping that part two is coming out in 2026.
Um, but, um, man, this album, holy cow, 18 songs
on a part one album. And, um, it is. I've loved
everything that John has put out as a solo artist,
but honestly, even before with his previous band,
The Lonely Forest. But this record, there was
a lot to it, and it goes a lot of different places
sonically. And he's made worship records like
this before, like personal worship records like
this before. Um, his I am origami part two is
probably my favorite worship album. Um, and I
still think it's, it's probably over this one
for me. Um, but, um, but man, this album has
grown on me and, uh, he released a lot of these
like single by single before the full album.
So like, like at least like six to eight songs
were already out before the full thing dropped.
And so I got to experience it in pieces as it
went, and I felt like that helps with an 18 -song
album, just to kind of get to know some of them.
But the first song I heard off of it was Jesus
of Nazareth, and it's a killer song. But I think
we've talked about this already, but just an
album where John invites you into his conversations
with God, And there's just a lot of substance
there and a lot of scripture there. And it's
such, such, such a great album. I think some
highlights for me are track number four, The
Red Sea Within Me. And if you listen to my Apple
Music replay, it would tell you that my song
of the year is close enough off of this album.
I love, love, love this record. It's really fantastic.
That's it's really interesting because I feel
like, um, for both of us, I feel like this whole
year of like, it's kind of been the year of like
Colony House for Gable Price and Friends. And
so I feel like, like there's a spoiler. So Colony
House is second and like Gable Price and Friends,
they just had a bunch of singles this year. So
like they're not number one. And I feel like
going into it, I was like, oh, that John Van
Dusen album is going to be. So I feel like it's
kind of a mystery. So I'm kind of excited to
get to kind of share mine and get to hear what
your number one is. I can't wait to hear what
your number one is. So my number one is the stronger
EP by The Last Bison. Okay. And like the only
problem with this release was that it's only
four songs. Each song was just so awesome. And
so Last Bison is a band that I love. I've loved
them ever since I first saw them in concert.
But the double -edged sword of that is that the
expectations are so high. And like I said, there's
another band that I had... Huge expectations
for and I feel like it kind of fell flat because
I was expecting this album to be this amazing
thing And it wasn't So whenever they released
this it's like man like they've done so much
over the years So it's like I don't know what
sound I'm gonna get with the last bison But like
they're a band that they like I said, they've
evolved over time And it's just awesome when
a band can take like the heart And they can bring
that to each direction they go on and I feel
like that's what um like the last bison did with
this is that that's something that has been like
Present with every release Is just this like
heart of it. Um, so I just like it's a four -song
ep But as I was looking through i'm like they're
there's no other release other than 77 part one
that I felt like I found myself like listening
to as much or is being like just as like hit
like as hard by my favorite track on it was it's
the last track and it's the outside so like I
think that one's short enough that I could have
been like the easy route and just said what's
only four so my favorite track is all four but
i think that one's just a little um edges out
the other three on the ep that's cool i know
you've been talking about them for a while and
it's another band that i still haven't really
checked out yet um and so i think since they're
definitely in your number one i owe them owe
them some listening time so Yeah. So my number
one is definitely my number one listen to album
of the year to hit that way in my Apple music,
um, replay. And, um, that is the album Jesus
by John Guerra. And, um, I haven't had an album
I think impact me like this album has, um, in
a while. Um, it's been the soundtrack to a lot
of my life this year, um, good times and bad
times. And it's just an album that kind of grounds
me and reminds me of what is important. And it's
an album that's all about Jesus. And whether
they're songs that are based on things that Jesus
said or songs about Jesus, it's called Jesus
for a reason, because it's an album just kind
of, again, sort of a personal... Even more than
a personal worship record it is that but it's
also just like theological Because most of this
album is just scripture Scripture puts a music
like the first song is called in the beginning
was love and it's basically John chapter 1 it's
a music and it's gorgeous and beautiful and Man,
I've listened to this so many times. And if you
asked me to pick a favorite song on it, I don't
think that I could. I honestly would say every
song, like you just said. I really like track
number four, I See the Birds. But I honestly
really like every, love every song on this album.
Love Your Enemies. There's just so much good
on this album and I can't. I can't speak enough
about it and I can't encourage people enough
in it. I think this album is like the Keith Green
and the Rich Mullins of today. John Guerra is
doing that level of songwriting and it's just
incredible and everybody needs to go and spend
a lot of time listening to it. It's 100 % my
number one album of the year. I feel like that's
really cool because just looking them up Like
I see that it was released in like the beginning
of April. Yeah, and I think it's just always
cool when You have something Because I mean like
I know for me they didn't release something but
like Gable Price and Friends that's kind of when
I started listening to them and like it I kind
of can see where you're coming from with this
one where it's like you listen to it and it's
like you're like man this is cool but as you're
going through your year you're like picking up
more of like oh man this like it's it's meaning
more and more instead of a okay let me put this
to the side go listen to yeah whatever Um, so
to me that's just it's cool because it's easy
to be like this album came out in september and
I still love it but like it's harder when it's
like I've had this almost for a year and I still
like love it. Yeah, I think I said In a conversation
when it came out when we were talking early on
that like this is my album of the year so far
Um, and it's nothing's ever pushed it and if
there was anything that was going to do that,
it would be a john venducin record and so, um
john came close but um, but yeah, this record
I love. So, but I think that's really cool. I
feel like it's just cool getting to listen to
them. And I know for me, too, like I always thought
it was cool. I keep mentioning Jesus Free Hideout,
but like they always do their year end. But what
I always appreciated was that they do like whole
staff. So it's like six or seven different people's
list. and I feel like it's just cool because
as a kid like last year I thought was really
as a kid last year when I was 32 years old um
but like whenever they would mention like neon
horse I'm like man that's so cool that there's
someone out there recognizing it and even um
you know I don't I don't know all the the numbers
on your list but I mean like there's some artists
that are on my list that I honestly looking back
like I think Fepeste might be like two or three
thousand listens a month on Spotify. So, I mean,
you have these bands like a Toby Mac that's,
you know, or 21 Pilots who were north of a million
listens a month. Do you have these smaller bands
that like they're, you know, Last Bison is not
going to be selling out Madison Square Garden
or something. Right. But it's like they're still
putting out stuff that's like from their heart
or whatever. Yeah, I love that. So that's it
that's our top ten albums of the year It's been
fun to kind of look back and it makes me excited
for 2026 to think about what's to come that there
could be albums like this That kind of step in
and impact our lives as much as these have this
year. I feel like this has been a year of a Few
like really standout albums for me But I feel
like the breadth of it hasn't been as much like
a lot of my favorite artists haven't put out
a lot this year and so And I feel like 2026 might
be an album where we get like a little bit more
breadth but maybe not as much for me like Depth
of like really loving a few records. So we'll
have to see how it pans out. Mm -hmm Well, um,
let's kind of finish up our discussion talking
about our lyric of the week So our lyric of the
week this week is from the namesake of our podcast
star flyer 59 I pulled a lyric from the song
just try off of everybody makes mistakes So this
is how it feels when you've got no one. So this
is how it feels when you've got no home I don't
want to be alone sitting by a no ringing telephone.
I don't want to be alone. So we'll just try Just
try. I love that album and I love that song.
So it's fun. We'll always on these random weeks
try and throw out a Star Flyer 59 lyric until
we cover another Star Flyer 59 album. Well, Brandon,
this has been fun. Thanks for being willing to
dig into your 2025 with us. And I'm excited for
us to step into next time that we have an episode
come out. It's going to be 2026. Who knows what's
ahead? Oh, we do. We predicted it. Get ready
for that Jamie Grayson, David Crowder, and Andy
Mineo treat. All right. So there's some interesting
things ahead for 2026. So we're looking forward
to seeing. We'd love it if you guys keep joining
us. You can find us on Facebook. Hey, are you
listening on X? Hey, are you pod? And come subscribe
to the podcast. Leave us a review and we will
talk to you in 2026.