The 20 best debut albums of 2025
These artists put out indelible introductory albums this year – don’t sleep on them
There’s magic in an artist’s debut album that can’t be recreated. On these introductory bodies of work, excitement, experimentation and the best parts of inexperience meet to make something beautifully pure. Who can say where the 20 artists below will go next, but with their first records, they’ve all – in their own way – created something that pushes personal or genre boundaries and brought thrilling new ideas to the table. Here are NME’s best debut albums of 2025 – this list might just help you find your new favourite artist.
Rhian Daly, Music Editor
Credit: Ethan James Green
Addison Rae – ‘Addison’
Who: TikTok titan who’s become one of pop’s most promising new stars
What NME said: “Addison Rae dreamt ‘Addison’ into existence, working from a mood board of colours and vague feelings rather than specific sonic references. What emerged from this vibes-based approach is one of the best pop debuts in recent memory: starry-eyed, enigmatic observations on love, fame and money for an era in need of its hedonistic ethos.”
Key track: ‘Headphones On’
Credit: Drink Sum Wtr
Annahstasia – ‘Tether’
Who: Soulful singer-songwriter blessed with a disarming voice who’s been heralded as the future of folk
What NME said: “Across this record, she proves relentlessly magnetic whether in an intimate duet (‘Slow’, with Obongjayar), a stripped-down meditation on capitalism (‘Silk And Velvet’) or an intense rock number (‘Believer’).”
Key track: ‘Villain’
Credit: The Him Institute
Denzel Himself – ‘Violator’
Who: London artist whose jagged rap and art-pop experimentation make him one of the UK’s newest, boldest shapeshifters
What NME said: “London artist Denzel Himself rips through ‘Violator’ with snarling distortion, neo-soul shimmer and grunge-soaked hallucinations, bending D’Angelo levels of warmth into something warped, wicked and vividly his.”
Key track: ‘Goth Flyer’
Credit: Third Man Records
Die Spitz – ‘Something To Consume’
Who: All-thriller Austin band on a smash and grab run through metal, punk, rock and more
What NME said: “‘Something To Consume’ darts between styles with brutish energy and a sense of anarchic fun. At times, it feels like you’re a teenager discovering synapse-fizzing sounds all over again as they pinwheel between punk, shoegaze and classic rock.”
Key track: ‘Throw Yourself To The Sword’
Credit: Gravity Records
Divorce – ‘Drive To Goldenhammer’
Who: Alt-country gang with friendship and DIY ethos at their core
What NME said: “Imagine the skyward arena alt-country of Boygenius, bedevilled with jagged grunge edges, a St. Vincent raised eyebrow, and chamber pop whimsy. In their own words, it’s a weird soup of ‘Wilco meets ABBA‘.”
Key track: ‘All My Freaks’
Credit: Anthony Nguyen
Eli – ‘Stage Girl’
Who: New Jersey-born singer-songwriter who’s turning her colourful childhood dreams into glittery pop gold
What NME said: “The 24-year-old leans as far into the ‘joy of pop’ as much as humanly possible. It’s what drives her sublime debut album ‘Stage Girl’ – a record partly made up of ’90s pop-R&B in the vein of TLC and Mariah Carey, and partly the bubblegum teen pop of early-noughties Disney Channel stars.”
Key track: ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’
Credit: LDH Records
F5ve – ‘Sequence 01’
Who: Otherworldly Tokyo girl group taking on pop with a bold, futuristic vision
What NME said: “With their frenetic, genre-blurring debut, the Japanese girl group are advancing a creative vision that’s as bold as it is inclusive.”
Key track: ‘Underground’
Credit: Jagjaguwar
Folk Bitch Trio – ‘Now Would Be A Good Time’
Who: Aussie indie-rock trio delivering wry portraits of young adulthood via beautiful three-part harmonies
What NME said: “Trends come and go, but three-part harmonies are forever. Folk Bitch Trio pack yearning, infatuation, growing pains, uncertainty, sex and death into nine songs where haunting, interlocking vocals are the only constant.”
Key track: ‘The Actor’
Credit: Innovative Leisure
Gelli Haha – ‘Switcheroo’
Who: Knowingly madcap LA synth-pop artist painting the world in brighter colours
What NME said: “‘Switcheroo’ is equally inventive and quirky, hopscotching from the candy-floss electro of ‘Bounce House’ (the one-shot video to which resembles a Tumble Tots run by Devo) to the riotous hedonism of ‘Piss Artist’.”
Key track: ‘Bounce House’
Credit: Speedy Wunderground
Heartworms – ‘Glutton For Punishment’
Who: British goth rock star getting comfortable in the darkness and harnessing a raw power
What NME said: “It is rare to see artists come bolting out the gate with such a strong identity, but here is someone who knows exactly who they are, what they want, and still daring to achieve more.”
Key track: ‘Warplane’
Credit: Island/EMI
Jacob Alon – ‘In Limerence’
Who: BRITs 2026 Critics’ Choice nominee who spins folk gold out of vulnerability and self-discovery
What NME said: “‘In Limerence’ weaves fact and fiction together to uncover their deepest, darkest truths… It’s a record exploring the title for its literal meaning: the sense of deep longing that Alon didn’t always realise within themselves, and the danger of dreaming rather than learning how to love.”
Key track: ‘Confession’
Credit: City Slang
Lambrini Girls – ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’
Who: Outspoken punk duo packing plenty of bite into their politically charged takes on modern life
What NME said: “With ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’, Lambrini Girls prove punk is alive and kicking. They’re unapologetically amplifying chaos, calling out societal wrongs, and daring us all to feel something. This record is loud, raw, and impossible to ignore.”
Key track: ‘Bad Apple’
Credit: Mikey Thomas
Maruja – ‘Pain To Power’
Who: Manchester jazz-punk band who spare no effort in their live shows and their search for solidarity via protest music
What NME said: “Maruja channel the collective pain and vitriol of the world into raw, intense and uplifting protest music on ‘Pain To Power’, a superbly crafted blend of soaring jazz, punk and post-rock.”
Key track: ‘Trenches’
Credit: Aria Zarzycki
Ninajirachi – ‘I Love My Computer’
Who: Australian artist crafting electronic pop that’s playful, futuristic – and human
What NME said: “Between thrillingly kinetic bangers – like the pummelling ‘CSIRAC’, named for Australia’s first digital computer, and the unabashedly dubsteppy ‘Battery Death’ – the album looks back on the 25-year-old’s musical journey through her relationship with one of her most enduring partners and collaborators: her computer.”
Key track: ‘CSIRAC’
Credit: True Panther
Oklou – ‘Choke Enough’
Who: French artist sketching an emotive form of electropop with subtle production and imaginative intimacy
What NME said: “Oklou’s breakthrough debut is aquatic cloud-pop for those anxious not to wake up the neighbours – not out of courtesy, but to avoid being perceived at all. Listening to ‘Choke Enough’ is akin to feeling a sudden gust of clean air in a windowless room. It’s refreshing and spellbinding in its quietude.”
Key track: ‘Blade Bird’
Credit: Yana Van Nuffel
Rose Gray – ‘Louder, Please’
Who: Pop’s new party girl writing love letters to all aspects of a night out
What NME said: “Born in a playground of warehouse raves and seeking to capture the hedonism of a sticky club dancefloor, Rose Gray’s debut album ‘Louder, Please’ is a prismatic collection of escapist pop that’s a euphoric celebration of dance music and community.”
Key track: ‘Angel Of Satisfaction’
Credit: Dirty Hit
Saya Gray – ‘Saya’
Who: Toronto experimentalist melding folk, pop and left-field textures
What NME said: “‘Saya’ does indeed play like an album where her artistic intention is undiluted… ‘Saya’ is a folk road trip record at heart, its stacked guitars, weathered beats and chameleonic vocals echoing the vast landscapes the contemplative tracks were born in.”
Key track: ‘Line Back 22’
Credit: Method 808
Sherelle – ‘With A Vengeance’
Who: British dancefloor conductor who uses the decks as a cathartic instrument
What NME said: “‘With A Vengeance’ maintains the same pulse and pace as much of Sherelle’s earlier work, but this time, she’s more intentional about the styles of production she brings to the table. Her sound is hard, fast and strong, but its speed doesn’t distract from its emotive energy, combining jumpy jungle drums, acid house 303 bassline patterns and juke sonics.”
Key track: ‘Freaky (Just My Type)’
Credit: Music For Nations
VLURE – ‘Escalate’
Who: Glasgow band fusing industrial electronics with cathartic post-punk
What NME said: “The Glasgow rave-punks’ debut finds transcendence in the sweaty darkness. Acid-soaked house, techno, bolshy guitars and emotional honesty combine in a paean to club culture and their home city that pushes a night to its limit.”
Key track: ‘Feels Like Heaven’
Credit: AD 93/Many Hats
YHWH Nailgun – ‘45 Pounds’
Who: New York noiseniks whose searing songs aren’t shy about going for the gut
What NME said: “For those adventurous enough to explore indie’s outer reaches, ‘45 Pounds’ was one of 2025’s most entrancing, addictive listens. A writhing, genre-defiant 21-minute shapeshift with an unrelenting percussive drive, it presents propulsive, progressive ideas so crazy they just might work.”
Key track: ‘Sickle Walk’