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10. Moron Police – Pachinko

Pachinko is a concept album about a man becoming a sentient pachinko machine in Japan. Yes, you read that correctly. But, somehow, it’s also an existential and emotional journey that will leave you feeling…something. There are parts that almost make me cry and also segments that feel like freedom and met-desires. It perfectly balances a tongue-in-cheek silliness with pure human emotion.

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9. Isgaard – The Water in You

The Water in You is united by a theme that appears in different contexts. Some songs feel bleak and dried out, hopeless. Some songs feel humid and burning. Some songs feel icy and shivering. The topics are wide-ranging, from racism to breakups to climate change. But there is always this floating aura that guides us through the album to make it all feel connected, whole.

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8. Obiymy Doschu – Vidrada

I think this is the first time I’ve included an album with non-English lyrics on this list. But you can feel every ounce of what the band is saying. This work is incredibly potent, feeling rather compelling and vulnerable. The album, however, is not doom and gloom, but is instead a call for hope, resilience, and even joy in the midst of travail. And it’s not just about the war; the album covers themes of childhood memories, connecting with the Earth, the passing of time, and more. It is meant to give listeners hope no matter where they find themselves, no matter what darkness might wait upon their doorsteps.

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7. Lunatic Soul

– The World Under Unsun

As ever, Mariusz writes beautiful lyrics, and The World Under Unsun is no different. It’s something of an endpoint for the afterlife story that’s spanned the entire discography, and I like where it ends up. I can’t say I know all the specifics, but I think that’s part of the experience.

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6. Primrose Path – Ruminations

Ruminations isn’t a concept album and I don’t detect any particular themes. But the lyrics are bleeding and raw, just as they should be for this type of music. I love how biting and even a bit angsty they can be, yet they are always poetic.

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5. Antinoë – The Fold

The Fold is all about folding inwards, coming to terms with death and learning to accept the indeterminate nature of the cosmos. It is almost like a celebration of love and loss simply because they are parts of the turning of the universe, the chaotic beauty all around us. There are several tracks without lyrics, but the lyrics that are present hit hard and the music spreads the theme clearly and potently.

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4. Cammie Beverly – House of Grief

As I completely expected, Oceans of Slumber’s Cammie Beverly debuted a solo album with rich, powerful, emotional lyrics. Each song feels like ghosts of the past, each song feels like a piece of Cammie’s heart.

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3. Remina – The Silver Sea

Heike is my all-time favorite lyricist. With Remina, she delves into science fiction, demon stars, Greek goddesses and the mysterious planets named after them, and more. The lyrics are bold and intelligent, and I can’t get enough.

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2. Cosmograf – The Orphan Epoch

Robin always writes fantastic lyrics. The Orphan Epoch addresses the divide that society wants to place between groups of people. This choice is most often binary, never nuanced or accounting for other ideas. They want to herd us into one of two labels, making us easier to control. The album sets this as a foundation but then discusses young people and the disconnection and disinformation that is fed to them as they grow to become the next generation. What future awaits? Can the world handle such toxicity and lies?

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1. Chimpan A – Music Is Art, Vol. 1

Of all the amazing albums in 2025, Chimpan A’s MIA is the one that stayed with me the most on a lyrical level. It features stories of love and loss, of slavery to drugs and hope for the future, of taking a stand against the authoritarian powers that be. It’s a broad spectrum of feelings, and yet feels so close, so potent.

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