December Album Releases
From late-night listens to records that linger long after the final track, this months selections lean into atmosphere, intention, and quiet evolution. These five album releases capture different corners of the underground—each worth spending real time with.
Anna Of The North - Girl In A Bottle
Play It Again Sam
5.12.25
Norwegian singer-songwriter Anna of the North returns with her long-awaited album Girl in a Bottle, out now via Play It Again Sam. Her most vulnerable release to date, the record captures the rush of new romance, the fragility of modern love, and the ache that follows heartbreak. Produced by Starsmith and Sebastian Furrer, its 80s-tinged pop glows with nostalgia while holding a signature melancholy. Featuring singles ‘No One Knows You Better’, ‘Call Me’, ‘Waiting For Love’ and ‘Give Me Your Love Back’, the project arrives as part one, with Girl in a Bottle: Please Recycle set for 2026.
Melody’s Echo Chamber - Unclouded
Domino Recording Co.
5.12.25
Melody’s Echo Chamber, the project of French musician Melody Prochet, releases her fourth studio album Unclouded via Domino. Inspired by a Hayao Miyazaki quote on balance and clarity, the record marks a life-affirming new chapter, embracing impermanence, presence, and connection with nature. Its sunlit grooves and grounded lyrics reflect a renewed outlook shaped by experience rather than escape. Co-produced with Sven Wunder, Unclouded features an exceptional cast including Reine Fiske, Leon Michels, Malcolm Catto and Josefin Runsteen, culminating in the radiant closing track “Daisy.”
Ólöf Arnalds - Spíra
Bella Union
5.12.25
Ólöf Arnalds mesmerises with little more than a guitar and her crystalline soprano. Across five albums, her music blends folk intimacy with myth and memory, drawing loose comparisons to Joanna Newsom, Nico and Vashti Bunyan while remaining unmistakably her own. After early acclaim with her debut Við og við, Arnalds stepped back to pursue family life and collaborations. Her new album Spíra (Sprout) marks a return: sung in Icelandic, sparsely arranged, and recorded live with longtime collaborators Skúli Sverrisson and Davíð Þór Jónsson. Rooted in love, creativity and renewal, it finds Arnalds fully alive again.
Mercyland - Mercyland
Propeller Sound Recordings
5.12.25
Mercyland was a foundational post-punk trio from Athens, Georgia, led by David Barbe (later of Sugar and Drive-By Truckers). Active from 1985–1991, the band blended British post-punk tension with American underground rock, drawing inspiration from Hüsker Dü, Minutemen, Mission of Burma, and Dinosaur Jr. This collection presents eleven raw, urgent tracks recorded between 1985–1987 from 8-track sessions, demos, and live recordings. Curated and remixed by Barbe, and pressed on vinyl for the first time, Mercyland is a vital document of an overlooked band ahead of its time.
Dove Ellis - Blizzard
Black Butter/AMF Records
5.12.25
Following a year of extraordinary momentum, Irish artist Dove Ellis releases his hotly anticipated debut album Blizzard on Friday 5th December. A defining moment in one of the most exciting new artist stories to emerge this year, the record finds Dove at his most expansive and assured, with focus track ‘Heaven Has No Wings’ capturing his emotional depth and cinematic ambition.
Lead singles ‘To The Sandals’ and ‘Love Is / Pale Song’ have earned major radio support with widespread critical acclaim, and over one million streams, firmly establishing Dove as a vital new voice in alternative music.
