Skip to main content July 28, 2025 Chicago's Lifeguard made one of the year's most excited debut albums Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone With strong albums from veterans Alex G, Japanese Breakfast, and Car Seat Headrest, and killer debuts from newcomers like Lifeguard, 2025 has been packed with great indie rock. In the latest episode of our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, we look back at the year in indie so far, with Simon Vozick-Levinson joining host Brian Hiatt for the discussion. (To hear the whole episode, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just press play below.) Alex G technically just departed the world of indie this month by releasing his major-label debut, after years of cult fame — Headlights is full of sharp, fully realized, Elliott Smith-worthy songs. Another longtime fave, Japanese Breakfast, a.k.a. Michelle Zauner, brings genre-hopping sophistication to her fourth album, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women). Wet Leg are still on the indie label Domino, but the viral success of their self-titled 2022 debut and frontwoman Rhian Teasdale’s obvious charisma have pushed them well beyond the typical limits of indie fame. Their new album, Moisturizer, embraces the jokey appeal of their debut on tracks like “CPR” while also finding new emotive and emotional ground throughout. Geese‘s Getting Killed isn’t out until September, but their single “Taxes” is one of the strongest songs of their career. Another yet-to-be-released album, It’s a Beautiful Place, from one-time Geese opening act Water From Your Eyes, is a collection of stylistically singular freak-outs, combining John Frusciante-inspired guitar blasts and electronics. Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century Chicago’s Lifeguard have one of the year’s strongest debuts with the relentlessly melodic Ripped and Torn, which sounds like a lost album from the 2004 indie boom. That band’s drummer, Isaac Lowenstein, is the brother of Horsegirl singer/guitarist Penelope Lowenstein. Horsegirl’s second album, Phonetics On and On, goes beyond the Sonic Youth influences of their debut toward gentler songcraft. Trending Stories GOP Senator Refuses to Admit Bush, Not Obama, Was President During Epstein’s Plea Deal Trump Rages About Windmills and Whales, Claims He Sent Aid to Gaza But No One Said ‘Thank You’ ‘Fort Bragg Has a Lot of Secrets. It’s Its Own Little Cartel’ Oklahoma’s Trump-Loving, Bible-Thumping Superintendent Faces Porn Probe The episode also touches on Model/Actriz’s Pirouette, Lily Seabird’s Trash Mountain, Sunflower Bean’s Mortal Primetime, Lambrini Girls’ Who Let the Dogs Out, and Car Seat Headrest’s The Scholars, among other albums. ​​Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone‘s weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). 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