Broken Dreams Club Best Local Albums of 2025
I feel incredibly lucky to live in a city with such an exciting, flourishing local music scene. Yes, the Bay Area is a punishing place to live as an artist. But bands continue to make this place their home and they continue to build off the energy of their community to create music that is unique, adventurous, inspiring and profound.
Here are my favorite local albums of the year, in alphabetical order by artist:
Falling Window – April Magazine: San Francisco’s finest sound collagists continue to make beautifully somnambulant tunes that mine the gray areas between sleep and wakefulness. Imagine if Grouper’s Liz Harris spent a day walking the streets of San Francisco and you’ll get a good approximation of this seven-song EP, which came out in April. And if you’re looking for a connective tissue in the local scene, search no further than April Magazine’s Peter Hurley, whose art, music and community spirit is a driving force behind San Francisco’s vibrant creative culture.
Joy Coming Down – Club Night: This album is a miracle in so many ways, what with the band members split up among multiple states and their label disappearing for several years. But not only did “Joy Coming Down” finally debut in 2025 after a six year break between Club Night albums, it’s an absolute revelation—a genre-defying journey that is as unique as it is thrilling. I’ve said it before and will say it again—NO ONE sounds like Club Night. Kudos to the fine gentlemen from Club Night, who are truly some of the best dudes in the business and good pals.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “The key to Club Night is a musical formula that can only be described as generous. Egalitarian to the core, Club Night songs are composed like a puzzle, with each member nestling their contribution within the bigger picture—all making their individual mark known without distracting from the end goal. Tatum’s guitar licks range from delicate, gossamer ribbons to thick, chunky riffs, Trainer and Cowman’s rhythmic concision forms the foundation of the sound and an array of samples and eerie voice manipulations add to the world-building feel of the music.”
No Scope – Crushed: Technically, Shaun Durkan, one-half of this dream-pop duo alongside Bre Morell, doesn’t live in the Bay Area anymore, but he’s got a ton of local roots and this album is too damn good not to mention here.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Much like the first release, “no scope” is drenched with atmosphere, as swirling guitars, spectral samples and ambient soundscapes create a rich, textured feel to every song. Tracks like “starburn,” “weaponx,” and “heartcontainer” showcase the band’s ability to meld woozy, hypnotic beats with lyrics and narratives that pierce through that haze. Like Durkan, Morell is unafraid to pen lines that are desperately plaintive, highlighted by the opening couplet of “heartcontainer,” when she mournfully laments that “I’m on my knees/ I’m crying for you.”
Dirt – Galore: This awesome quartet drifts between post-punk, indie pop and garage rock genres without ever sounding derivative. Their latest album is another example of the band’s collaborative, communal songwriting spirit.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Like all Galore songs, “Bastard” defies easy convention. It’s lean and unadorned, full of crisp guitar lines and steady rhythm movements, recalling sleek and slender acts like The Feelies or The Clean. But guitarist and singer Griffin Jones’ clear, ringing vocals belie the slacker insouciance of those bands and her earnest delivery adds depth and poignancy to the song’s lyrics of self-loathing. Because as one could expect from a song called “Bastard,” the track isn’t exactly an ode to the human spirit. Jones catalogs her various shortcomings in a haltingly reflective manner, highlighted by her declaration that she’s “the bastard of almost everything.”
Arrow of Love – Hectorine: An ambitious concept album that makes the connection between mythological epics and modern day romantic struggles.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Borrowing from the dreamy airiness of Fleetwood Mac’s later discography, the dramatic flourishes of Kate Bush, and the symphonic movie soundtracks of classic 80s movies, the album feels both medieval and alien—the score from a distant, foreign world. Tinkling synths and billowing waves of sound provide a warm, lush ambiance to the album, with ornate instrumentation—glockenspiels and marimbas are featured prominently—imbuing “Arrow of Love” with an apocryphal, mythical atmosphere.”
Doin’ Fine – Josiah Flores: A product of the prolific wellspring that’s Speakeasy Studios, “Doin’ Fine” finds Flores evocatively delivering wounded cowboy lullabies. Mournful pedal steels and dobroes dance along to Flores’ plaintive narratives of wronged lovers, wayward souls and endearing drifters. Paying homage to both Chicano singer-songwriters and legendary acts like Hank Williams, “Doin’ Fine” is a wonderfully modern update to the classic tears-in-your-beer ballads that are a staple of country music.
Lucky – Lucky: A rollicking good time of indie country and Americana from Andrew St. James and Peter Kegler, two guys who are as fun to hang out with as their music is to hear.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Their album kicks off with Kegler taking the lead on “Falling Through,” a whirling, lilting jaunt about underachievement and disappointment that sounds like Merle Haggard injected with a high voltage shot of the Pixies. It sets the tone for a collection of songs that map out the highs and lows of relationships, the tenuous nature of being a creative person and the general volatility of post-pandemic life.”
Valerian Tea – Magic Fig: For the unapologetic D&D devotees of your friend group, this album is a blast of prog-rock goodness that’s unpretentiously grand and fun.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “A San Francisco supergroup of sorts (although what Bay Area band isn’t a “supergroup”), Magic Fig bring an undeniably unique sound and aesthetic to the local scene. Comprised of members from the Umbrellas, Whitney’s Playland, Almond Joy and Healing Potpourri, among others, Magic Fig specialize in proggy, psychedelic tracks that recall both the late 60s acts of San Francisco’s hippie heyday and 70s English bands like Yes and Rush.”
Waiting Room – Kathryn Mohr: I love spooky music, and this album is one of the more haunting records I’ve heard in years. Imagine if Slint further stripped the parts of their austere masterpiece, “Spiderland,” and you’ll arrive at the gorgeous negative landscape of “Waiting Room.”
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Elements of Grouper, Slint and a host of bands from The Flenser can be heard in “Waiting Room,” but the vibe is unmistakably Mohr’s. While she acknowledges the profundity and brilliance of those artists, Mohr said she typically avoids listening to those musicians when making albums.
On This Day – Tony Molina: This guy just doesn’t miss. In his wonderfully varied career, Molina has always managed to capture the wondrous joy of finding that perfect pop hook, whether it’s buried in a wall of noise, submerged underneath lo-fi dissonance or transported cleanly through a perfectly lilting delivery. “On This Day” is a sparkly, clean collection of ebullient pop tracks and deeply nostalgic acoustic guitar ballads.
The Pennys – The Pennys: A bedroom pop gem that’s courtesy of Mike Ramos and R.E. Seraphin, two prodigiously talented local songwriters.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Incorporating elements of gentle psychedelic rock, wayward Americana, lo-fi bedroom pop and 80s British twee sensibilities, the release feels completely fully formed, the product of two songwriters whose talents blend seamlessly. The EP comes out swinging with the beautiful, Girls-indebted “Say Something,” a desperate tale of longing punctuated with Ramos’ pleading chorus line, as he asks his lover to “please, please, please/Say something.”
I Dream Watching – Rhymies: A departure from the noisy outputs of her other outfit, Seablite (which, RIP), Rhymies has Lauren Matsui mining big emotions from direct and unfussy synth pop gems.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Armed with an array of analog synths and keyboards collected over her prolific music career, Matsui set about recording a series of pop songs that emulated 80s new wave icons such as Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and Depeche Mode while also capturing the radio-friendly classicism of megastars like Madonna. She immersed herself in the programming intricacies of the vintage machinery, teaching herself new tricks with sequencing, arpeggiators and drum machines. The result is a layered, voluminous sonic landscape, drenched in waves of ebullient, buoyant synth moments that feel big and bright.”
Novel Tea – Luke Sweeney: Technically Luke lives in Nevada City now, but he’s been a mainstay of the Bay Area scene for years and his latest album reflects his ability to deliver serious social messages in a charmingly offbeat manner. Also, one of the nicest guys around.
From the Broken Dreams Club archive: “Album standout “Probably Me” is a Calypso-inflected chamber pop piece, in which Sweeney humorously details the multiple versions of himself, and the aforementioned “Subsidize Our Rent” has him doing his best Randy Newman impression—all rollicking piano interjection and witty vocal deliveries. The central takeaway of that song “subsidize our rents/when shit gets hard,” is so simple it’s almost koan-like, serving as a reminder again that although many of Sweeney’s subjects—young love, maturation, discovering the world—feel timeless, others are despairingly still topical.”
Scarecrow II – The Telephone Numbers: I hate to pick favorites here, but it would be tough to top this second full length from power-pop maestros the Telephone Numbers. Thomas Rubinstein has an uncanny knack for crafting deeply-stirring, emotive indie rock numbers.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive: “That melancholic, autumnal feel permeates the album, which artfully catalogs a changing city, relationships in flux, endless career challenges and other reference points that feel hyper specific to modern living in San Francisco. Among the many standout tracks on the record is “This Job is Killing Me,” an austere, gleaming observation about the insecurities and daily drudgeries of musicians who struggle to make ends meet in a city that’s prohibitively expensive.”
Long Rehearsal – Whitney’s Playland: In a year where there were no new releases from the Umbrellas and Chime School, Whitney’s Playland kept the local janglepop scene buzzing with this three-song EP released by Dandy Boy Records.
More from the Broken Dreams Club archive (from the band’s response to a question about the new EP): “On “Sunset Sea Breeze,” a lot of the songs were brought to the project fully formed by George, while a couple were melodic and lyrical collabs between George and Inna. For the new EP, Inna wrote many of the lyrics, and Paul, Evan and Inna each contributed to the instrumentation and structure of the songs. Writing the EP was great! We really enjoy and get lost in the process of recording. Everyone has a unique ear for what’s happening in the song, and we’re all on the same page with adding our contributions in the effort to make the song as good as it can be.”
Other great local albums: Ryli – Come and Get Me; Now – Now Does the Trick; The Goods – Don’t Spoil The Fun; Andrés Miguel Cervantes – Songs for the Seance