Ulrika Spacek tell us about their Top 10 Albums of 2025

As we usually do around the holidays, we’re asking artists about their favorite albums of the year. Here we’ve got a Top 10 list from London band Ulrika Spacek, whose fourth album, EXPO, is due out in February. Their list includes Oneohtrix Point Never, YHWH Nailgun, Dutch Interior, Smerz, and more.

Check out the full Top 10 and their commentary below.

Ulrika Spacek x10 Favourite Albums of 2025

Smerz – Big City Life
In line with their past stuff it’s very cool, detached and comes across so effortless, but on this record they really combined that with truly great songwriting and a real sense of warmth. It’s a very rich album but also one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Probably most listened to record of this year

Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer
This one came in quite recently but it is amazing. We are not usually into the idea of an artist releasing too many of the songs in advance before release, but on this occasion it worked really well, in the months leading up to the release you found yourself slowly getting more immersed into the record. In very dystopic times, this felt very much like a soundtrack to the absurdity, and one of the few records around at the moment that truly sounds futuristic.

Water From Your Eyes – It’s A Beautiful Place
We’ve followed this band for a while and really liked this record. Love how knotty things are and technically it’s really interesting without sounding alienating. They blend electronic drum sounds with real drum sounds so well, and kinda hop across genre references so slickly. Definitely one of the most interesting bands out there at the moment.

YHWH Nailgun – 45 Pounds
With high anticipation for this record since they dropped their EP in 2022, YHWH Nailgun’s 45 Pounds has really delivered on all fronts. It’s a heavy, visceral, relentless, inspiring and dense.Twenty minutes of sounds instantly recognisable; and that in itself is a remarkable achievement. Special mention for Jack’s album artwork.

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Gift Songs
Last year’s Nala Sinephro’s album was on heavy rotation for us on tour, and Gift Songs has felt like a really nice continuation of that blend between spiritual jazz and ambient. The use of acoustic instruments instead of electronic and digital ones is also a nice welcome when done so tastefully, and is, at times, reminiscent of other all time favourite artists of ours such as the Necks and Harold Budd.

caroline – caroline 2
It feels slightly wrong to include this album on our list, given [our bassist] Syd’s involvement in its recording, but it’s such an absorbing piece of work it deserves a nod. Really enjoy the clash of instruments and rhythms that later come together so delicately in sync. There’s a pace to it that sometimes leaves you holding your breath for a moment which is quite powerful.

Dutch Interior – Moneyball
They effortlessly alternate vocal duties throughout the album and the songwriting stays consistently on point. Love how varied the instrumentation gets from track to track & how each choice of instrument perfectly compliments the song at hand. They clearly have a great chemistry within the band, they’re very attuned to each other & it shows in how they let songs breathe & unfold – it feels like everyone is contributing some magic to the pot. It’s a sentimental record that feels like a hug you really needed. They’re also friends of ours so occasionally we get said hugs.

Model/Actriz – Pirouette
A cool band we played with in Copenhagen and Amsterdam last year – coincidentally the two cities mentioned in their song “Diva.” Great guitar sounds with evocative and confident lyrics over bass + drums that sound cold and more like Berlin than New York. It’s a record that demands your attention when you put it on.

Honesty – U R Here
Debut album from UK collective, Honesty. Blending elements of the UKs dance scene with alternative and DIY sensibilities. The record is rooted heavily in nostalgic and modern electronic sounds with gritty analogue elements that will make them interesting to watch live. There’s a creativity that flows through the record like passing a mix tape around between friends. It’ll be exciting to see what they do next.

The Men – Buyer Beware
After first discovering The Men in 2012 with the amazing Open Your Heart, every album since has shown a different character of the band as they evolve and reinvent themselves whilst always sounding like The Men. Full of raw live energy, this album embodies The Men as a skuzzy punk band, one of their more familiar outfits. Listening to it is like playing a Stooges and Sabbath record at the same time. Another one for turning up in uncertain times.

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EXPO is out February 6 via Full Time Hobby and Ulrika Spacek will be on tour in North America in the spring including NYC’s Mercury Lounge on March 21.

Ulrika Spacek – 2026 Tour Dates
February 6th – London @ Rough Trade East
March 20th – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
March 21st – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
March 22nd – Troy, NY @ No Fun
March 24th – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
March 25th – Toronto, ON @ The Cave
March 27th – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
March 28th – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
March 30th – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
March 31st – Salt Lake City, UT @ DLC
April 2nd – Seattle, WA @ Baba Yaga
April 3rd – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
April 4th – Portland, OR @ The Get Down
April 7th – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
April 8th – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon

See more 2025 Year End Lists here.