![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mold_band_press.webp.jpeg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMold!’s album III made it to our list . \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMold!’s album III made it to our list . \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Photo by Ale Campos<\/p>\n
It never ceases to amaze us: every time we leave town, someone inevitably asks, \u201cDoes Miami have a music scene beyond the big-name Latin artists topping the Billboard<\/a> charts?\u201d The answer is always yes \u2014 we do. And the proof is in the list below.<\/p>\n Every week, New Times writers and editorial staff receive dozens of emails featuring new music from local artists<\/a>, making the task of choosing the Best Miami Albums of 2025 anything but easy.<\/p>\n From electronic to folk, industrial, and R&B, these are our top picks, some real gems crafted right here in our backyard over the past 12 months. Cheers to Miami <\/a>and to many more years of bending genres, soaking up all that multiculturalism, and creating songs that probably couldn\u2019t have come from any other area code but the 305 (okay, and 786\u2026 and 954 \u2014 you get it).<\/p>\n &NDRW + STV.OK?Y \u2013 Electric Glue<\/p>\n Released on September 26<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re living in an age of digital smoke and mirrors,\u201d the versatile producer\/III Points veteran Bryan Andrew Medina (&NDRW) told New Times earlier this fall<\/a>. \u201cOf art that is seen increasingly as just more content. To me, as a musician, I\u2019m either wasting people\u2019s time or I\u2019m creating something that could potentially inspire them to feel and think on a deeper level. There\u2019s really no middle ground anymore.\u201d Electric Glue<\/a> \u2014 the rousing, humanity-centering record Medina made with powerhouse rock vocalist and longtime collaborator Steven Delgado (STV.OK?Y) \u2014 falls firmly in the latter substantive, value-added camp, deftly bridging Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails, darkwave, Playing the Angel-ish Depeche Mode, French electro, and classic rock (Delgado\u2019s baritone bullseyes those Jim Morrison, David Gahan, Leonard Cohen vibes) on its way to reminding us technology should be a tool not a master.\u00a0By Shawn MAcomber\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis year, make your gift count \u2013 \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOur work is funded by readers like you who make voluntary gifts because they value our work and want to see it continue. Make a contribution today to help us reach our $30,000 goal!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Alexa & The Old-Fashioneds \u2013 Witches, Wolves and Murder<\/p>\n Released on October 24<\/p>\n The new three-song EP Witches, Wolves & Murder <\/a>came out around Halloween. Fittingly, even beyond the title, it has a bit of a spooky aura to it. But each of the three rock tunes is an earworm that will stay with you all the way through the less eerie times of the year. The highlight is probably the opener \u201cWitch in Disguise,\u201d where the four-piece band sounds undeniably tight, but the secret weapon is frontwoman Alexa Lash\u2019s voice. She channels all kinds of emotion in a manner reminiscent of Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine.\u00a0 If you dig it, the band is delving into other holidays with the Americana-tinged Florida-themed Christmas song, A Miami Holiday, out December 19. It will be interesting to see if 2026 brings new Alexa & the Old Fashioned songs inspired by St. Patrick\u2019s Day or the Fourth of July.\u00a0By David Rolland\u00a0<\/p>\n Jeff Stones \u2013\u00a0 Rather Be Distant 3 <\/p>\n Released on April 3<\/p>\n Born and bred in North Miami Beach and boasting a dynamic approach to hip-hop that calls to mind both old school legends (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony; Notorious B.I.G.) and new school leaders (Travis Scott, Future), Jeff \u201cHitman\u201d Stones<\/a> has been honing his melodic, soulful-yet-unabashedly-real-keeping flows since 2013 \u2014 and the harrowing and uplifting Rather Be Distant 3<\/a> feels like a transcendent culmination of that work. Whether he\u2019s finding the strength to speak his truth (\u201cAt My Ends\u201d), giving it up to his higher power (\u201cSay Yo Grace\u201d), or paying tribute to a fallen friend (\u201cAt the Crossroads\u201d), Stones is using his remarkable voice to not only explore and navigate his own life and experiences, but also to comfort, elevate, and inspire those who encounter his music. By Shawn Macomber<\/p>\n Major Lazer \u2013 Gyalgebra<\/p>\n Released on November 21<\/p>\n Major Lazer <\/a>came out in full force in 2025, rolling out multiple pop-ups that helped tease Gyalgebra, the group\u2019s newest mixtape. Once known as a trio, the group has now evolved into a quartet with the addition of America Foster. Across its 20-plus-minute runtime, the quartet goes back and forth sonically, reviving the original dancehall-meets-big-house EDM energy that made them famous, while also reintroducing elements of dubstep, house, rock, and glitchy cyberpunk textures throughout.<\/p>\n The group and their sound is still embedded in the South Florida vibes that leader Diplo grew up with adding 305 OG DJ Chipman to mix for Jump & Twist for what is one of the best mixes of Miami Bass and Baile funk we\u2019ve ever heard. The project is high energy from start to finish and shows why Major Lazer is still one of the biggest groups in dance music still.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Gyalgebra isn\u2019t quite their next official album, it represents a major step forward for the group as they continue their comeback ahead of a return to major festivals like Coachella and Ultra Music Festival.\u00a0By Osvaldo Espino\u00a0<\/p>\n Mold! \u2013 III<\/p>\n Released on July 17<\/p>\n The indie rock quartet might have seemingly mellowed out with their third and newest record III <\/a>being more melodic than their previous two albums. But III still carries Mold!<\/a>\u2018s\u00a0 rock and roll enthusiasm as evidenced by each of the new LP\u2019s dozen song titles ending with their trademarked exclamation point. The record seems slightly influenced by the Jacuzzi Boys, Miami\u2019s longtime torchbearers of garage rock, but III has its own thing going with bilingual lyrics in Spanish and English accompanied by walls of sound that traverse into realms of distortion and sequencers. Opener \u201cElevator!\u201d takes you into the upper levels of a sonic highrise structure. Make sure to stop on the high energy floor song six \u201cSolo Hoy Dia!\u201d and the more relaxed ten for \u201cIt Goes On and On!\u201d. But you can push the button for all the songs on this record and find yourself fulfilled throughout.\u00a0By David Rolland<\/p>\n Rachel Goodrich\u00a0 \u2013 Once Before<\/p>\n Released on April 4<\/p>\n With Once Before<\/a>, Rachel Goodrich<\/a> opens a fresh chapter, shedding the tongue-in-cheek bounce of her earlier \u201cshake-a-billy\u201d days and embracing a deeper, more reflective sound. Set against the rich cultural backdrop of South Beach, the record threads jazz inflections, subtle Latin rhythms and her now-signature sultry voice into an indie-pop tapestry that effortlessly shifts between playful and profound. She trades in ukulele and kazoo for electric guitar and leaner arrangements, allowing each note and lyric to breathe. At times her vocals soar like melodic laughter, at others they dip into hushed confession, transforming imperfections into charm, and scene-vibes into emotional territory. The result is a joyful yet honest celebration of where she\u2019s been and where she\u2019s headed, a record of self-discovery that still invites you into the party she\u2019s been throwing from day one. By Yuval Ofir\u00a0<\/p>\n Snowbros \u2013 Swing Spell <\/p>\n Released on September 18<\/p>\n Swing Spell<\/a> is a beautiful and jarring throwback to a bygone, more anarchic era in industrial rock \u2014 that moment roughly between the Wax Trax! Records heyday and the post-Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste and Pretty Hate Machine gold rush when genre boundaries were smashed rather than blurred, mischievousness reached ecstatic heights, and everything, to slightly paraphrase Henry Miller, was raised to apotheosis. You\u2019ll heard welcome shades of Lard, Skinny Puppy, Prick, Front Line Assembly, and others across these six songs as well. Led by Danny Ae and Howard Melnick of alt-darkwavers Astari Nite<\/a>, Snowbros promised New Times earlier this year they would be \u201cunleashing the true sourness of our existential dread, leaning on painful screaming guitars, modular synths, vocals and plenty of noise.\u201d Mission accomplished! By Shawn Macomber<\/p>\n Te\u00e1 Mox \u2013 Sailors <\/p>\n Released on November 7<\/p>\n Apologies to Greek mythologists, but even sirens performing on rocky shores likely never pulled off performances as beguiling and alluring as the indie dream pop you\u2019ll discover on Sailors<\/a>. Is it bedroom pop? Well, in the sense that it was written, recorded and mixed by Miami-based Mexican painter and singer-songwriter Te\u00e1 Mox in her bedroom, yes. (\u201cThis is a one-woman show!\u201d she writes on Spotify.) And the affecting, uninhibited lyrics \u2014 at turns poetic, biting, defiant, and soul-baring \u2014 delivered in a uniquely ethereal and versatile voice certainly provide more ballast for that categorization. Yet, the lush, expansive compositions here are near-symphonic at times. The term cinematic feels apropos because, again, Mox shoots and directs her own music videos for the tracks. The record really is a holistic triumph not to be missed. By Shawn Macomber<\/p>\n Timothy LaRoque \u2013 The Florida Effect <\/p>\n Released on October 24<\/p>\n From last year\u2019s well-received Yacht Rock: A Documentary to Michael McDonald\u2019s instant New York Times bestselling memoir What a Fool Believes to sold out Christopher Cross tours, the people want that AM Gold \u2014 but, weirdly, we get so little of it from up-and-coming artists. Or we did until Timothy LaRoque dropped The Florida Effect<\/a>, an easy, breezy melding of folk, jazz, pop, and rock that firmly establishes the singer-songwriter as an old school troubadour with a new school twist. Love Seals & Crofts, Ambrosia, or the more simmering offerings from the aforementioned Cross? Get in the dinghy, listener, we\u2019re getting in the metaphorical yacht with LaRoque to visit some brand new soft rock islands. By Shawn Macomber<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mold!’s album III made it to our list . Photo by Ale Campos It never ceases to amaze…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[49592,2311,123,125,124,46913],"class_list":["post-92682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-album-reviews","tag-local-music","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-year-in-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Invest in local news that matters.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n