NPR Music - The Contenders, Vol. 25: Robyn, Rosalía, Nothing, Snocaps, more

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

In our final contenders episode of 2025, we’ve got some late additions to our running list of the year’s best songs, including Robyn’s first new release in seven years, the return of the existential shoegaze band Nothing and, of course, we’ve gotta include Rosalía.NPR Music editor Hazel Cills joins host Robin Hilton.Featured artists and songs:Robyn: “Dopamine” (single)Rosalía: “Divinize,” from 'LUX'Snocaps: “Over Our Heads,” from ‘Snocaps’Bassvictim: “Mr. President,” from ‘Forever’Lola Young: “SPIDERS,” from ‘I’m Only F****** Myself’Nothing: “cannibal world,” from ‘a short history of decay’Weekly reset: Walking through Nara Park (the deer park) in Nara, Japan, on an autumn afternoon.Enjoy the show? Send it to a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [e-mail] pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

I feel like all I do on Fridays is just mark emails as read. By 10.30 this morning, and I'm not making this up, by 1030 this morning, I had almost 400 emails that came just today. All from labels and artists and publicists and telling me about a new release. I don't think I'm ever marking emails as read. I'm either reading them or they're not getting read. So do you just leave them unread? Do you just have an icon that's telling you, reminding you how much you failed? I have 21,679 unread emails. But to me, it doesn't feel like I'm failing at anything. I do the same thing that you do is like I skim the subject lines,

but I'm not marking things as red because I just, the icon just like doesn't stress me out. I don't know. I'm like, it's not really my problem. I think that artists and labels, whatever, should just randomly release their music whenever. Because when they're kind of doing that already. Well, it's still too focused on Fridays because everything seems to come out on Friday. That's when I get hammered with the most emails. And then what ends up happening is it just ends up becoming this big massive noise and chaos.

And it's just too much. And then I miss almost everything. It's All Songs Considered. I'm Robin Hilton, NPR Music Editor Hazel Sills here, Hazel. Thank you for having me. This is the last contenders episode of the year. We've got a Thanksgiving episode coming up, and then we're going to hit December, and then it's all year-end stuff. We start this list at the beginning of every year, just to keep track of the best songs that come out.

We add them to the list as we move through the year. These are the songs that we love so much that they could end up on our final best of 2025 lists. And we've got some stuff, I think, on this week's show, this final contenders episode of the year that, well, for me anyway, I know for sure will, in fact, end up on my best of 2025 lists. How about you? I mean, this first thing is definitely a contender for sure. Okay. Because it is a song by an artist who I love very much and was very surprised and excited to see her return. It's a new song from Robin called Dopamine.

And it's just like as soon as I heard it, I feel like I played it seven times in a row. It's a good sign. So, yeah, it's a good sign. I want to hear it again. Like, I just feel like as soon as I hear that song, I want to hear it again. I'm so just happy to get Robin back And I feel like she is in body talk mode on this song Like as opposed to what she was doing on her last album, Honey,

which she put in 2018, which was like a much more relaxed version of Robin. I feel like this is a return to the body talk Robin of the mid-2010s where she's like kind of this like Fembot pop powerhouse. And yeah, I just think that this. song just packs like such a fun punch. It's interesting you say that because, how do I want to say this? There's so much dance music that really just exists in the body for me. And that's, I mean, that's totally fine. But it's one of the reasons why I often don't really connect with it on a terribly deep level or whatever. You know, it doesn't always invite deep consideration for me. But something in

Robin's music does. Yeah. Well, yeah. I mean, I think that, like, Robin just across her career has done such a good job to me of using dance music and pop music as a vessel for her to explore her own insecurities and humanity. And in a way that I think, like, really set the standard for a lot of artists who have come after her. I think, like, the stuff that she was doing on body talk. as a pop star who had kind of come up through this very classical, like, Swedish commercial system and then was making music about kind of moving between these two poles of like,

I'm indestructible, but I also see you at a party kissing someone and I'm crumpling in the corner. Like music that gets at a range of emotions but is still fun to dance to? Like I think that I don't want to take her contributions to that for granted. And I think maybe that, I don't know, do you feel like that's what she's getting at, where that makes you feel a little bit more connected to what she's doing in the genre? Yeah, I mean, I think that's totally it. It's something very human. And maybe it's because it's not just total abandonment or whatever. Because, like, even in this song, there are hints of desperation and anxiety and self-doubt and all those sorts of very human, real emotions come through in ways that I don't always hear.

and music that is simply meant to be enjoyed and that you're meant to move to. I don't know. So, yeah, no, it's great to have her back. And not for nothing. This year's the 30th anniversary of her debut album. Robin is here.

That album came out in 1995. Yeah. Well, I want to play something from an album that has been talked about a lot, but not on this show, mostly on New Music Friday in Alt-Latino and on our website. But it's definitely going to be

my album of the year. year. And it is full of multiple songs that could be Song of the Year for me. And since this is the last contenders episode of the year, I think we've got to include it. And that is the Rosalia album, Lux. Yes. I've actually thought long and hard about how to describe it and do it justice. But you really can't. I just think like you really just, if you want to understand it and appreciate it, you should just listen to the whole thing from start to finish multiple times. And it's really impossible to pick any one song that gets at everything that Rosalie is doing on Lux. But I'm going to go with a song called Diven Eyes.

This album is so unbelievably epic and expensive and like I said, it just sort of scratches the surface of everything going on in this album. This album is so unbelievably epic and expensive and like. Did you say expensive or expensive? Expansive because I think it's expensive. It is very expensive album. You know, we work in this industry and we're here in orchestras. We're here like, you know. There's a choir.

It's just all the different polyrhy rhythms. And I mean, like, yeah, if you did sort of a then diagram of all the different elements happening on this record, I feel like quite a few of them all come together on this one song. It's full of all these sudden twists and turns, her voice is incredible. Anna Maria Sayre, co-host of Alt Latino, did a great interview with Rosalia about this album. And Rosalia kind of talked a bit about being inspired by all of these saints throughout history and like feeling connected to them and sort of understanding her own story in the present by reading about these saints. And I hear that in this song especially because, you know, so much of this song is about like I was born to divinize like inside me and outside of me. and there's that incredible lyric on the song

where she talks about her vertebrae. She calls upon people to pray upon her spine like it's a rosary, which is just an incredible image to me. And I think this song and album in general is so charged with serious high, baroque, Catholic art and energy and these saints who just like felt God's energy in them. I don't know.

I hear the same intensity, Catholic intensity, in a song like this as I do looking at, you know, a Bernini sculpture in Rome of like the ecstasy of St. Teresa. And so I feel like for her to bring all of those artistic influences and drama to this music is really fun to listen to. Well, with everything that you just said in mind, just listen to the end. I want to play the end of one other song and then it goes into yet another song. I just want people to hear just a little bit more of the range here.

This is the end of a song called Mio Christo Piano. Deaumanti. And then it goes right into another song called Bergen. There is a universe of music in this album. I genuinely think it's a masterpiece. And I'm not just saying that as a throwaway line. I mean an actual masterpiece. Yeah, I mean, I just was not expecting this from her at all. Yeah. So Rosalia, the first song that I played was divinize. And then I played a little bit of the song, Mio Cristo, Bianche Diomante, into the song Bergen. from the album Lux. All right, we've got more music on the way, plus your weekly reset coming up at the end of the show. But as always, if you enjoy the show,

leave us a glowing review on Apple Music or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And also share this with a friend. Send this episode to a friend, turn other people on to the show. It's the best way to support it. Hazel, where do you want to go next? Yeah, I want to play a song from a duo

that might be familiar to a lot of listeners, which is The Sisters, the Crutchfield, sisters, Katie and Allison, who are each solo artists in their own right with projects like Swearit and Waxahatchie, but they put out a surprise release on Halloween as the band Snowcaps with a self-titled album. And it is such a wonderful little compact indie rock record. And I want to play a song from it that I love, especially called Over Our Heads. This is my favorite song from the Snowcaps album, I think because when I hear it, I feel like I hear them singing about their own relationship to each other as sisters and artists.

So, you know, I mentioned, you know, the Crutchfield sisters. They have their own solo work, obviously, but, you know, they have a long history of making music together since they were teenagers. They were in very short-lived, but super-beloved groups, P.S. Eliot and Bad Banana. And I just, what I love about both of them is that they've always carried this very DIY spirit throughout their careers. and something that I think has inspired a lot of younger artists as well. And there's such a conspiratorial streak to this song over our heads. Like they're kind of describing themselves as like outlaws, right? Like, you know, outlaws who are on the run, like kind of snaking through alleyways.

And yeah, when I hear that lyric, don't bother chasing us boys. We'll see ourselves out. Yeah, that's a great line. It's such a great fun line. And I'm like, well, that could kind of describe like their whole career. Yeah, no, there's a lot of joy in it for sure that comes. You can tell they're having so much fun. Yeah.

So the band they have together, snow caps, and that's all one word, S-N-O-C-A-P. Is it one word? S-N-O-C-A-P-S? I think it's one word. Yeah, Snowcaps. Like the candy. Self-titled album in that song was Over Our Heads. This next thing I want to play is something I bet you probably already know about,

and it was totally new to me. The band, Bass Victim? I do know Bass Victim. I figured you did. Well, Dora Levitt, I got to give her a shout out. She's the one who turned me on to this new album from Bass Ficton. I hadn't heard of them. They're a duo from London, Marie O'Mano and Ike Claytman. They're pretty new, though, right? I mean, I think they've only been around for a couple of years. They've released three albums just in the past year, though. Their first album came out in April of 2024. They just released their third album. It's called Forever. And the song I want to play from it is called Mr. President. Such an awesome build in this song. So much chaos.

just wild energy. I see the word messy used to describe their music a lot. I think that's pretty fair. Yeah, it's interesting because it's like I feel like I'm in a time in my adulthood where young people are making music that sounds like the music that I had as a teenager. Oh, interesting. This, to me and like bass victim, they sound so late 2000s to me. Like so much their music is like party music like sweaty like I feel like I'm supposed to be listening to it in a like a dark basement with a fog machine or something but there's a softness to this song but do you don't hear that you don't hear when the drums kick in that it sounds like animal collective or that oh yeah that's a good reference I was thinking like sleigh bells yeah but of that same era

yeah for sure like just that I don't know maximalists overblown a little whimsical It's like, is this a kid singing or is it like the way the vocals are looped? Like, if this song had come out in 2006, like I wouldn't have been surprised to hear it. Actually, Tinder Forever. Do you remember that band? I think I may be shared. Oh, Tinder Forever. It reminds me a little bit of some of their stuff.

When you said sort of whimsical and playful, it made me think of them. But that's the thing. It's like it's so raw and ragged and cathartic. and chaotic, but also just super catchy and grabby, too. Yeah. So the song, Mr. President, from the album Forever from Bass Victim just came out. All right, Hazel, I know you've got one more song that you want to play. I do.

I want to play a song that I honestly think is kind of one of the most underrated songs of the year. Like, I feel like it's a song that should be getting more shine. And I haven't seen people talking about it, which is a song by the artist Lola Young. titled Spiders. I think her performance in that song is just like one of the best vocal performances that I've heard on a song this year.

Like that is a performance that she is giving us. Incredible performance. I actually got really choked up. Not just by the performance. No, I honestly was going to as well because I just like, Loli Young is a very interesting artist right now.

She's very young. She's 24 years old. She was recently nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys. And she just has this extremely raw, direct, very candid songwriting and singing style. And Spiders is just so, it just gets at this real dark place of, I am not me without you. Even that image of like, can you kill all the spiders in our room, which is just such a simple thing to do for someone. We've all been there.

asking our parent or a sibling or someone to kill the spider in our room. Or our partner. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like she takes that little act of care and blows it up into like this life or death necessity. There's something in it that really took me back to when like that time when you're younger and I don't know, you're just sad and angry all the time. I don't know. Maybe you can't identify with that.

No, I was totally sad and angry all the time. You know, but it's like something particularly in that the recurring image of being in a car. In fact, that drop that comes in there. Oh, my God. The first time she mentions being in the car. Like, when you're younger, the car is the only place that's really your own where, like, you can have some privacy and some solitude. Get away from your parents' house. Yeah, it has this kind of like almost grungy.

She's a pop artist, but when I heard this song, I was like, oh, you are kind of a rock star. Well, I'm glad you're spreading the gospel of Lul Young. I miss this when this came out in September, and I really love it. Will this one be on your best songs list, your personal best songs list? I think it might have to be. I think I submitted some songs, and doing this is making me rethink that I should change some of that. Yeah, I have to agree. Same thing with me.

This was not on my list, and then hearing it here on the show, I was like, That's pretty good. That's a pretty good song. Well, I've got one more late add to the list of contenders that we've been. been keeping all year. And this is from a band that I've loved for a very long time, and they haven't put anything out in a very long time. It's a band called Nothing. We started the show with Robin. It had been seven years since she last released something. It's been six years since we heard from the band Nothing. But they just announced a new album is coming out next year, and they shared one

song from it that I want to play. Are you a fan of Nothing? Is this a band that you... I haven't spent a ton of time with them, but it's actually kind of crazy that I haven't because they're from Philly, right? Yeah. And they're a shoegaze band. I mean, here's all you need to know, Hazel. This is right here in your real house. I'm just going to say some of the names of their albums.

Cool. The Great Dismal. Yeah. Tired of Tomorrow. So true. Guilty of everything. Well, I'm not pointing fingers. You're just reading my thoughts right before I fall asleep at night.

This is what the inside of my brain sounds like. They've got an EP called Downward Years to, come. I love this band so much. But you know, here's the thing. There is resilience and power in this music. It sounds like it could be pretty bleak, but I don't find it bleak at all. I find it very inspiring. The music is so alive. It's alive and kicking, and it is roaring even when life is at its lowest point. This new album that they just announced is called A Short History of Decay. And the first song that we get to hear from it is called Cannibal World. We'll go out on and Hazel Sills, thanks as always.

Thank you. And for NPR music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's all songs considered.