Here are 20 folk and folk-adjacent albums that stood out to us in different ways and kept us coming back. This list is, of course, just a snapshot of the music that crossed our paths this year and reflects our own tastes. If you have favorites of your own, feel free to share them in the comments.
With that, on to the albums. Hope you find something new to love here.
[1–10, in no particular order]
JIM GHEDI – WASTELAND
Quick Take: A striking folk record blown wide open through guitars, harmonium, synths, strings, percussion, bass, and massed voices, with near-apocalyptic weight running through it.
| From: Sheffield, United Kingdom RIYL/FFO: Progressive Folk, Avant-Folk Mood/Sound: Brooding, Intense, Apocalyptic Standout Tracks: “Old Stones,” “Wasteland,” “Hester” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Folk, Neofolk & Doom Folk
ALAN SPARHAWK – ALAN SPARHAWK WITH TRAMPLED BY TURTLES
Quick Take: A beautifully raw, acoustic-heavy record where Alan Sparhawk lets his grief pour into the richly layered, full-bodied bluegrass-and-folk tapestry of Trampled by Turtles, making it feel emotionally heavy yet deeply comforting at once.
| From: Duluth, Minnesota, United States RIYL/FFO: Chamber Folk, Progressive Bluegrass, Alt-Country Mood/Sound: Wistful, Cathartic Standout Tracks: “Not Broken,” “Screaming Song,” “Don’t Take Your Light,” “Princess Road Surgery” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Slowcore | Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
ANNAHSTASIA – TETHER
Quick Take: Heavy emotions carried by stripped-back production and a remarkable soul voice.
| From: Los Angeles, California, United States RIYL/FFO: Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Chamber Folk Mood/Sound: Intimate, Tender, Lush Standout Tracks: “Villain,” “Be Kind,” “Overflow” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
MAUD THE MOTH – THE DISTAFF
Quick Take: Blurring the lines between ritual folk, darkwave, and operatic gothic rock, this is one of the most intense and memorable releases of the year.
| From: Edinburgh, United Kingdom RIYL/FFO: Avant-Folk, Neoclassical Darkwave, Gothic Rock, Doom Folk Mood/Sound: Cathartic, Ritualistic, Harrowing, Eclectic Standout Tracks: “A Temple By The River,” “Siphonophores,” “Despeñaperros” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Folk, Neofolk & Doom Folk
ETHEL CAIN – PERVERTS
Quick Take: A dim, restless record drifting through slowcore drag, dark ambience, and noise breakdowns.
| From: Tallahassee, Florida, United States RIYL/FFO: Slowcore, Dark Ambient, Drone, Avant-Folk Mood/Sound: Dark, Bleak, Haunting, Eclectic Standout Tracks: “Amber Waves,” “Punish,” “Onanist” |
Listen: Spotify
Playlist Companions: Dark Folk, Neofolk & Doom Folk | Dark Ambient & Drone | Slowcore
HANNAH FRANCES – NESTED IN TANGLES
Quick Take: A dynamic blend of avant-folk, progressive structure, and jazz-flecked rhythm, where intricate guitar work and expressive vocals carry deeply personal stories of rupture, survival, and self-reclamation.
| From: Chicago, Illinois, United States RIYL/FFO: Avant-Folk, Progressive Folk, Jazz Fusion Mood/Sound: Poetic, Expansive, Eclectic Standout Tracks: “Falling From And Further,” “Nested In Tangles,” “Steady In Hand” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
CREDIT ELECTRIC – SALVATION
Quick Take: Slowcore weight moves alongside lively, song-forward writing, with sax, violin, and a wider instrumental palette enhancing its emotional resonance.
| From: California, United States RIYL/FFO: Slowcore, Alt-Country, Art Rock Mood/Sound: Introspective, Psychedelic Standout Tracks: “Ugly,” “Hex,” “Lazy” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Slowcore | Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
MY LOVELY HAUNTING – FORGOTTEN MOON
Quick Take: A hypnotic debut at the intersection of electronic ambience and folk, glowing with calm introspection.
| From: Melbourne, Australia RIYL/FFO: Ambient Folk, Indie Folk Mood/Sound: Delicate, Reflective, Mysterious, Hypnotic Standout Tracks: “Star Gazing,” “Drifting” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
POOR CREATURE – ALL SMILES TODAY
Quick Take: Traditional Irish folk music reshaped through industrial, psychedelic, and krautrock lenses; beautifully eerie from start to finish.
| From: Ireland RIYL/FFO: Avant-Folk, Folktronica Mood/Sound: Mysterious, Ethereal, Hypnotic Standout Tracks: “The Whole Town Knows,” “Bury Me Not,” “Hicks’ Farewell” |
AUDOYNAUD – HYPERBORÉEN
Quick Take: With fractured acoustics, dark ambient textures, and soft French vocals, it feels like a slow walk through frozen, unfamiliar woods.
| From: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France RIYL/FFO: Dark Folk, Neofolk, Acoustic, Dark Ambient Mood/Sound: Spectral, Abstract, Suspenseful Standout Tracks: “Iris,” “Nord” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Folk, Neofolk & Doom Folk
[11–20, in no particular order]
SOPHIA DJEBEL ROSE – SÉCHERESSE
Quick Take: A genre-bending album steeped in uncanny atmosphere, where folk darkness and experimental rock mass press together.
| From: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France RIYL/FFO: Avant-Folk, Neofolk, Drone, Neoclassical Darkwave Mood/Sound: Raw, Ritualistic, Dark Standout Tracks: “Les Noyés,” “Blanche Biche” |
Listen: Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Folk, Neofolk & Doom Folk
MARISSA NADLER – NEW RADIATIONS
Quick Take: Soft, open-hearted songs built around clear melodies, gentle guitar, and a quiet sense of emotional closeness.
| From: Nashville, Tennessee, United States RIYL/FFO: Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter Mood/Sound: Dreamy, Nostalgic, Bittersweet Standout Tracks: “It Hits Harder,” “Sad Satellite,” “Light Years” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
BRIGHT EYES – KIDS TABLE
Quick Take: Bittersweet and melancholy at the core, but carried by lively, melodic arrangements that keep it feeling strangely alive.
| From: Omaha, Nebraska, United States RIYL/FFO: Indie Rock, Indie Folk, Alt-Country Mood/Sound: Wistful, Nostalgic, Melodic Standout Tracks: “Kids Table,” “Cairns” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
MINRU – THIN PLACES
Quick Take: Tender and reflective, with that unmistakable Nordic calm running through it.
| From: Gothenburg, Sweden RIYL/FFO: Indie Folk, Acoustic, Singer-Songwriter Mood/Sound: Soft, Delicate, Reflective Standout Tracks: “Hiemal,” “Nook,” “Prisoner” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
ICHIKO AOBA – LUMINESCENT CREATURES
Quick Take: Built on feather-light vocals, intimate piano, and gentle guitar, it drifts like a soothing lullaby between folk, ambient, and neoclassical worlds.
| From: Tokyo, Japan RIYL/FFO: Ambient Folk, Neoclassical Mood/Sound: Delicate, Minimalist, Dreamy Standout Tracks: “Coloratura,” “Luciferine” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk | Ambient & Neoclassical
WATCHHOUSE – RITUALS
Quick Take: Clear, glowing harmonies and gently layered instrumentation circle around themes of home, connection, and the small patterns that quietly hold everything together.
| From: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States RIYL/FFO: Americana, Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter Mood/Sound: Spacious, Warm Standout Tracks: “Sway/Endless Highway (pt. 2),” “Rituals” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
CALMING RIVER – MACDUI
Quick Take: A fully instrumental, stripped-back descent into dark folk and drone, where minimal gestures and slow movement create a heavy, inward pull.
| From: Brighton, United Kingdom RIYL/FFO: Dark Folk, Dark Ambient, Drone Mood/Sound: Dark, Gloomy Standout Tracks: “Kuts,” “Plain of Esdraelon,” “Haygrove” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Folk, Neofolk & Doom Folk
STEVE GUNN – MUSIC FOR WRITERS
Quick Take: A gentle, fully instrumental guitar drift you don’t so much listen to as slowly fall into.
| From: Brooklyn, New York, United States RIYL/FFO: Indie Folk, Ambient Folk, Psychedelic Folk Mood/Sound: Meditative, Peaceful, Psychedelic Standout Tracks: “Mossy Stump,” “Pedvale Sunrise” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Soft & Dreamy Indie Folk
DANIEL BACHMAN – MOVING THROUGH LIGHT
Quick Take: Fingerpicked guitar slowly dissolving through loops and digital decay, drifting into that Basinski-ish zone where time starts to feel warped. Weirdly beautiful stuff.
| From: Madison, Virginia, United States RIYL/FFO: Drone, Glitch, Avant-Folk Mood/Sound: Abstract, Mechanical, Uncanny Standout Tracks: “God Is Change,” “Tight Tangles Of Being Intersecting In Every Direction,” “Now” |
JOANNE ROBERTSON – BLURRR
Quick Take: What begins as a raw, blurred exchange between voice and open-tuned guitar gradually opens into something unexpectedly powerful once the cello enters the frame.
| From: Glasgow, United Kingdom RIYL/FFO: Indie Folk, Slowcore Mood/Sound: Improvisatory, Intimate, Hazy Standout Tracks: “Gown,” “Doubt,” “Ghost” |
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