My most anticipated releases by women artists of 2025.
WE ARE SO BACK.
collage by Jake Harvey.
With FKA Twigs, Lady Gaga and Oklou releasing banger records, 2025 has already been a pretty good year for women in music, but could it get even better? This is my list of most-anticipated albums by women artists and women fronted bands scheduled to release in 2025, in no particular order. By the time this article is published most of these albums will have already dropped, so dive in and enjoy!
Haim — I Quit
Release Date: June 20th, 2025
With its laid back grooves and soulful harmonies, the Los Angeles pop-rock band’s music is effortlessly cool. Haim has been around for a while, but they never had a big, mainstream hit — that is, until “Relationships”, the lead single of their upcoming record I Quit. Listening to Haim is like that specific hour of a Los Angeles summer night when the sunset is gone, but not quite, washing everything in a cool, bluish hue. You yearn for heat, for sunlight, to be in a seaside bar drinking tequila, but the melancholy lingers. “Relationships” captures their signature sound, whilst featuring an irresistibly catchy hook. Haim has always been good, but with the direction of their lead singles, this album could reach the next level.
Smerz — Big City Life
Release Date: May 23rd, 2025
You may not have heard about Norwegian electronic pop-duo Smerz before, but you will. Their previous works are experimental, avant-garde, hypnotic —reminiscent of artists like Oklou – but they largely flew under the mainstream radar, despite their innovative sound. Their new album could, and should, change that. “You got time and I got money,” the second single released in the album, combines the electronic and classical sides of Smerz. There is a certain weightlessness about the song, as if floating in space, yet the orchestral string arrangement is there to ground it in a wistful nostalgia. The old Smerz tracks were made for the club, but this one begs for slow dancing under city street lights.
The Beaches — No Hard Feelings
Release Date: August 29th, 2025
The Beaches is a Canadian indie-rock band that grew to fame with their last album Blame My Ex in 2023. They are a quintessential rock band—in the age of synthesizers and digital distortions, sometimes you just need to hear a real bass line. Although sometimes sonically repetitive, The Beaches is a fun band that encapsulates a relatable attitude. Their hit “Blame Brett” struck a chord with many due to its witty cynicism. Yet, they led their follow-up album with a surprising confession of self-doubt and introspection. Grappling with their newfound fame, the lead single “Jocelyn” has some of the most vulnerable lyrics ever written by the Beaches — “So perplexing coming up, when my esteem is on the floor/I headlined at the Troubadour and wondered who they came here for.” I am eager to see them reach new depths in their music with this album.
Lorde — Virgin
Release Date: June 27th, 2025
You don’t need me to tell you why Lorde is great. Still, my anticipation of this album is intensely personal. Lorde wrote THE soundtrack to my adolescence. Since I was 12, I was already singing along to “I’m 19 and I’m on fire” on the radio. Sure, it has only been four years since Lorde’s last album, but in many ways, “What Was That” seems like the resurrection of a previous lifetime. “What Was That” is the perfect song for Spring. The words“I try/to let/Whatever has to pass through me/pass through,” play as the April breeze blows across me, as I’m standing alone in the middle of the quad. Some found this new single to be a disappointing recycling of elements from Melodrama, but upon hearing it, I knew that the Lorde we knew and loved was back.
Wet Leg — moisturizer
Release Date: July 11th, 2025
Post punk has not been popular in recent years, but Wet Leg has broken through the genre’s hibernation. Our introduction to the British rock band was from their self-titled, debut album Wet Leg, especially its hit single “Chaise Longue.” “Chaise Lounge” captured the messy skins-esque coming of age feeling, but it is clear from the start that moisturizer is going to be a different era for Wet Leg. On The Jonathan Ross Show, Rhian Teasdale walked out with bleached pink hair, flexed her biceps, and then proceeded to perform their lead single “catch these fits”. While I personally did not enjoy the song as much as their previous work, I am certainly curious to see how their new musical direction will blossom in moisturizer.
Wolf Alice — The Clearing
Release Date: August 29th, 2025
My biggest regret from my high school years was not seeing Wolf Alice live on their Blue Weekend tour. You might know Wolf Alice from their hit single “Don’t Delete the Kisses” or Ellie Roswell’s distinctive falsettos. They are a critically and commercially acclaimed shoegaze dream pop band from London. Since that tour, the band has gone through gigantic transformations. They opened for Harry Styles. They left Dirty Hit to sign with Columbia Records. Roswell dyed her hair brown. This new album they teased would be the first time we see and hear Wolf Alice under their new label. From what we see from the lead single “Bloom Baby Bloom,” they are nothing like before, taking on a more vintage rock sound than the ethereal dreamy sound they are known for. Would this style transformation work? Let’s wait and see.
Addison Rae — Addison
Release Date: June 6th, 2025
The first time I saw Addison Rae was in Netflix’s weird remake of She’s All That. Then, I did not know she was a famous TikTok star, but I also did not associate her with anything close to serious music. Imagine my surprise when I saw “Diet Pepsi” pop up on my YouTube recommendation page. Addison Rae’s rebrand is definitely one to be examined, but her new music should not be underestimated. Her sound has a siren-like, hypnotic allure to it, but it is also sleek, sophisticated, and ice-cut, like designer logos on thousand dollar handbags. “Aquamarine” might have made it on my 2024’s most listened songs, and I have yet to discover anything that strikes the same feeling.
Ethel Cain — Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
Release Date: August 2025
We saw Ethel Cain’s release of Perverts at the start of 2025. It was vastly different from the narrative-driven concept album of Preacher’s Daughter, disappointing many (including myself) who loved her debut album. Well, now we don’t have to fret, because the true sequel (or actually, the prequel) to Preacher’s Daughter is coming. Ethel Cain’s sound hasbeen described as slowcore, indie pop, but I always thought her sound was synesthetically intertwined with her visual aesthetic's themes of southern gothic, small town Americana, and religious trauma. This album promises to continue exploring these themes while immersing us in a familiar, haunting sonic landscape.
edited by Neha Modak.
collage by Jake Harvey.