Latest Western Music Releases [November 2025]

Bad BooksLuvcat

Luvcat – Bad Books (Official Music Video)

Started in 2023 as the solo project of Liverpool-born Sophie Morgan Howarth, Lovecat crafts a darkly romantic sound that weaves Gothic noir and cabaret decadence into alternative rock.

Closing out the debut album “Vicious Delicious,” released by AWAL in October 2025, this track uses a theatrical vocal delivery to portray the narrator’s brazen sensuality as she likens herself to “a book of bad reputation.” It rapidly unfurls symbolic imagery—alley cats, Sotheby’s desks, crucifixes—spinning a lyrical world that deftly fuses high society with B-movie horror to stunning effect.

It’s a must-hear not only for fans of Nick Cave and The Cure, but for anyone drawn to music with a flair for theatrical storytelling.

Modern TimesMIKA

MIKA – Modern Times (Official Video)

Mika, who achieved worldwide success in 2007 with the hit song “Grace Kelly,” is known for his wide vocal range cultivated through classical training and his theatrical pop sensibilities.

His track released in October 2025 is an ambitious work that strengthens the texture of electropop.

The piece explores themes of the accelerating pace of modern society and the repetitive routines of everyday life, using the metaphor of a constantly running treadmill to portray a human cry for spiritual liberation.

Co-written by Nick Littlemore of Empire of the Sun, the song features an impressive structure where contrapuntal piano lines intertwine with a pulsing beat.

The music video, filmed in Vienna, is suffused with ritualistic beauty.

Black-Eyed Susan ClimbMagdalena Bay

Magdalena Bay – Black-Eyed Susan Climb (Official Audio)

Magdalena Bay is a Los Angeles–based synth-pop duo consisting of Mika Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin.

Their 2021 debut album, Mercurial World, received high praise across the media and quickly drew widespread attention.

Their 2024 release, Imaginal Disk, was also a critical success, and they are currently releasing new songs at a steady pace alongside touring.

This track is from a double single released by Mom+Pop on October 31, 2025, timed for Halloween.

It’s a dream-pop piece woven from lustrous synth layers and airy vocals—carrying forward a Y2K-flavored future sound while remaining a melody-forward pop song.

As the third installment in their string of autumn releases, it arrived with the humorous message, “Two more songs? When does it end? Don’t think too hard about it.” The release distills the duo’s essence: balancing internet-age culture with refined pop craftsmanship.

UnoriginalMagdalena Bay

Magdalena Bay – Unoriginal (Official Audio)

Magdalena Bay are a synth-pop duo based in Los Angeles.

After earning high praise for their 2024 album Imaginal Disk, they released a new double single in October 2025.

This track is one half of that release, a song that playfully depicts being subsumed by everyday, trivial tasks and a self-conscious fixation on originality.

The mellow guitar tones and slightly muffled vocal processing create an intimate atmosphere, and in the chorus, layered vocals fill the space as the sonic field opens up.

Marking a shift from the grandeur of their album era, this piece condenses their introspective pop sensibility into a minimalist arrangement.

A must-listen for fans of synth-pop and dream pop.

Weep for NothingMayhem

Mayhem – Weep For Nothing (Visualizer)

Mayhem, known as the progenitors of Norwegian black metal, have continued to pursue extremity in their music even more than 40 years after forming in 1984.

Released in November 2025, this work was unveiled ahead of the album “Liturgy of Death,” slated for release in February 2026.

Centered on themes of nihilism and an ode to death, the track slices through the air with Attila Csihar’s vocals—shifting between feral growls and operatic singing—and Hellhammer’s precise blast beats.

The structure, which transitions from a breakneck opening section into a doom-laden latter half, brilliantly fuses the band’s cold-blooded precision with their experimental edge.

It’s a must for black metal fans and a compelling listen for anyone interested in extreme musical expression.

KONLE The Great

NLE The Great – KO (Official Short Film)

Released in October 2025, this track has drawn attention as a hard-hitting diss aimed by NLE Choppa, aka NLE The Great, at none other than NBA YoungBoy.

The lyrics question the responsibilities of an influential role model, maintaining an ethical perspective that condemns negative impacts on youth.

While its aggressive structure recalls 2Pac’s classics, it also weaves in spiritual vocabulary, reflecting the artist’s current shift toward a wellness-oriented stance.

The heavy trap beat and assertive flow create overwhelming intensity, making it a recommended listen for anyone who wants to experience hip-hop’s battle culture.

cannibal worldNothing

NOTHING – ‘cannibal world’ (Official Music Video)

Philadelphia shoegaze band Nothing have unveiled the lead single from their first album in six years, “a short history of decay.” Due in February 2026, the group’s fifth full-length was created by the current five-piece centered around Domenic Palermo and recorded at Sonic Ranch in Texas.

Anchored by drummer Zachary Jones’s breakbeats, the record delivers an aggressive blend of towering walls of fuzz and reverberant wash.

Lyrically, it intertwines a marrow-deep lethargy with paradoxes like “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” sustaining an introspective message that double-exposes personal deterioration against global hunger.

Their unflinching engagement with aging and the weight of memory further refines a signature aesthetic where sonic violence coexists with fragile lyricism.

A long-awaited return to Japan is also planned for February 2026, so be sure to keep an eye out.