Here are 20 ambient and ambient-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]
WALT MCCLEMENTS – ON A PAINTED OCEAN
Quick Take: One of the most sweeping ambient records of the year. With accordion, organ, sax, and synths folding into one another until the lines blur, much of it rises from quiet ripples into towering, stirring surges of sound.
| From: Los Angeles, California, United States RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Post-classical Mood/Sound: Hynotic, Ethereal, Eclectic Standout Tracks: “Cloud Prints,” “On A Painted Ocean,” “Clattering” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Ambient & Neoclassical
RUSANDA PANFILI, JOHANNES WINKLER – ECHOES
Quick Take: Echoes floats between elegant string-led neoclassical writing and small cosmic/dark-ambient pockets that give the whole record a greater sense of scale. The production is spotless, but what really stands out is the emotional weight beneath it. “11 Dimensions” shows this best, reflecting the album’s full arc with its slow, beautiful rise and enveloping atmosphere.
| From: Vienna, Austria RIYL/FFO: Neoclassical, Ambient Mood/Sound: Cinematic, Orchestral, Cosmic Standout Tracks: “11 Dimensions,” “Space Echoes,” “Relativity,” “Solaris” |
Listen: Spotify
Playlist Companions: Cinematic Instrumentals | Ambient & Neoclassical
SHEDIR – WE ARE ALL STRANGERS
Quick Take: The slow, creeping tension here is perfect, built from dense layers and submerged electronics. A must-hear for anyone who prefers dark ambient that breathes instead of falling into endless stasis.
| From: Sardinia, Italy RIYL/FFO: Dark Ambient, Drone, Experimental Electronic Mood/Sound: Dark, Suspenseful, Atmospheric Standout Tracks: “Ghostnest,” “Stillwake,” “Endlessfall” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Ambient & Drone
WILLIAM TYLER – TIME INDEFINITE
Quick Take: A remarkable fusion of experimental ambient and Americana, shaped from loops, tape hiss, church-hymn fragments, and stretched guitar. It’s unsettling and beautiful in equal measure, and highly recommended for anyone into genre-crossing sounds.
| From: Los Angeles, California, United States RIYL/FFO: Ambient Folk, Experimental Ambient Mood/Sound: Surreal, Mysterious, Unsettling Standout Tracks: “Cabin Six,” “Star Of Hope,” “Anima Hotel” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Cinematic Instrumentals | Dark Ambient & Drone
LUCY GOOCH – DESERT WINDOW
Quick Take: In Desert Window, Gooch works with voice as both language and atmosphere. Chants, whispers, and layered harmonies rise through a mix of folk textures and airy electronics, giving the songs an otherworldly feel. A beautiful record that feels like hearing someone dream out loud.
| From: York, United Kingdom RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Ethereal Wave, Ambient-Electronic Mood/Sound: Cinematic, Dreamy, Lush Standout Tracks: “Clouds,” “Desert Window,” “Keep Pulling Me In” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Cinematic Music with Choirs & Ethereal Voices
ABØN – WINGS OF ADELAINE
Quick Take: A moving, dreamlike slice of cinematic music, with ABØN’s gorgeous vocal layers at the center and orchestral arrangements that feel expansive yet gentle.
| From: Denmark RIYL/FFO: Neoclassical, Ambient Mood/Sound: Cinematic, Dreamy, Lush Standout Tracks: “Miracles,” “Wings,” “Stone III” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Cinematic Instrumentals | Cinematic Music with Choirs & Ethereal Voices
HEKLA – TURNAR
Quick Take: Recorded in part within a medieval tower in France, Turnar is one of the year’s standout releases from the dark, eerie end of the spectrum. Trembling theremin lines, heavy drones, and organ tones meet and rise together like distant ghosts stirring in the walls.
| From: Reykjavík, Iceland RIYL/FFO: Dark Ambient, Drone Mood/Sound: Dark, Ominous, Ritualistic Standout Tracks: “Var,” “Gráminn,” “Ókyrrð” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Ambient & Drone
HARBORS (HOLLIE KENNIFF & GOLDMUND) – WHEN WE ARE FREE
Quick Take: There’s a signature glow to When We Are Free, the kind that anyone familiar with the Kenniffs will recognize instantly. It’s tranquil, emotive, and shaped with a warmth that settles in slowly.
| From: Portland, Oregon, United States RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Drone, Mood/Sound: Dreamy, Soothing, Nostalgic, Bittersweet Standout Tracks: “Where The Light Falls,” “A Portrait Of Time,” “Moving Wings” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dreamy, Warm Drone-Ambient
BLACK SWAN – FROM THE END OF TIME
Quick Take: What makes this album hit is the contrast. All that ruined sound, from brittle tapes to cold winds to broken harmonics, ends up revealing something unexpectedly delicate at the core. As strange as it sounds, Black Swan has a knack for carving beauty out of ruin, and this album might be the clearest example yet.
| From: New York, New York, United States RIYL/FFO: Drone, Ambient, Dark Ambient Mood/Sound: Atmospheric, Bleak, Spectral Standout Tracks: “Overture,” “Endless Infinite,” “Desolation Rising” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Dark Ambient & Drone | Ambient & Neoclassical
TIM HECKER – SHARDS
Quick Take: Even as a set of score leftovers, Shards feels very much like Hecker: fragmented, minimal, and challenging in all the right places.
| From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Experimental Electronic, Dark Ambient Mood/Sound: Mysterious, Ominous, Eclectic Standout Tracks: “Heaven Will Come,” “Joyride Alternate” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Dark Ambient & Drone | Spacescapes [Cosmic Ambient, Drone]
[11–20, in no particular order]
JÓNSI, ALEX SOMERS – RENTAL FAMILY (OST)
Quick Take: This long-overdue reunion between Jónsi and Somers brings exactly the kind of emotional pull you’d expect from them, but this time with a bit more hopeful, uplifting energy than most of what they’ve made together before. It’s a lovely evolution of what they do best, and a beautiful reminder of how well these two work together.
| From: Reykjavík, Iceland RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Neoclassical Mood/Sound: Dreamy, Cinematic, Warm Standout Tracks: “Cherry Blossom Pink Ink,” “Lost Memory,” “Found Family” |
Listen: Spotify
Playlist Companions: Dreamy, Warm Drone-Ambient | Cinematic Instrumentals | Upbeat Cinematic Instrumentals
MADELEINE COCOLAS – SYNDESIS
Quick Take: If you’re into ambient music where field recordings take the lead rather than just decorate the edges, Syndesis could be right up your alley. The gates, bells, voices, and open-air echoes from Cocolas’ time in Greece settle into the tracks like small memories, giving the whole album its own quiet gravitational pull. A beautiful, slow-blooming gem.
| From: Australia / Japan RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Drone, Neoclassical Mood/Sound: Atmospheric, Spiritual Standout Tracks: “Theory of Divination,” “Bells Of Athena,” “The Lion Gate” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Dark Ambient & Drone | Ambient & Neoclassical
LAWRENCE ENGLISH – EVEN THE HORIZON KNOWS ITS BOUNDS
Quick Take: Think of a horizon slowly reshaping itself as you walk. That’s the pacing of this album: steady, patient, and wide. Soft piano swells blink through the mist, but the real draw is the cool, distant atmosphere that carries everything forward in one unbroken flow.
| From: Brisbane, Australia RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Drone, Post-classical Mood/Sound: Atmospheric, Mysterious, Suspenseful Standout Tracks: “ETHKIBVI,” “ETHKIBVII” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Dark Ambient & Drone | Ambient & Neoclassical
EDOARDO GASTALDI, JAY BREWER – ATLANTIC TO ADRIATIC
Quick Take: Gastaldi and Brewer mix piano, guitar, and field recordings with a kind of natural ease, letting each element rise and fade like shifts in light. Beautiful, introspective, cinematic in a low-key way.
| From: Venezia, Italy & Boston, Massachusetts, United States RIYL/FFO: Neoclassical, Ambient Mood/Sound: Cinematic, Reflective Standout Tracks: “That Saturday,” “Spleen,”“Our Life In Reverse (Epilogue)” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Ambient & Neoclassical | Cinematic Instrumentals
DEAF CENTER – REVERIE
Quick Take: Just two long, +15-minute live improvisations here, but they open up a whole world: piano drifting through darker cello and electronic textures, the guitar coloring the edges. The whole thing unfolds in a quiet push-and-pull between light and dark, creating a hypnotic, haunting atmosphere.
| From: Oslo, Norway & Berlin, Germany RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Drone, Electro-Acoustic, Dark Ambient Mood/Sound: Atmospheric, Haunting, Nocturnal Standout Track: “Erie” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Ambient & Drone
ANTONIO MINISTERI – FERNWEH
Quick Take: A dreamy neoclassical album with ambient textures floating underneath. Strings, piano, and hazy electronics melt together beautifully and create a wistful, gently transportive atmosphere.
| From: Rovigo, Italy RIYL/FFO: Neoclassical, Ambient Mood/Sound: Cinematic, Dreamy, Wistful Standout Tracks: “No Land,” “There Is Much More Sea Than We Can Imagine,” “Muse” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Ambient & Neoclassical | Cinematic Instrumentals
IREZUMI – DOWNFALL
Quick Take: This one aims straight for a colder register. Irezumi works with slow drones, faint pulses, and a sense of distance that never quite closes. It’s stark, minimal, and strangely absorbing.
| From: Paris, France RIYL/FFO: Dark Ambient, Ambient-Electronic Mood/Sound: Hypnotic, Suspenseful, Mysterious Standout Tracks: “Escape,” “Vulnerable,” “Paranoid” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Dark Ambient & Drone | Spacescapes [Cosmic Ambient, Drone]
JONNY NASH – ONCE WAS OURS FOREVER
Quick Take: Hushed guitars, twilight colors, soft breathy sax, a little dream-fog over everything. All of these come together in a warm and tender way, with a touch of bittersweet feeling seeping in at the edges. A lovely guitar-ambient highlight.
| From: Amsterdam, Netherlands RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Ambient Folk Mood/Sound: Soothing, Tender, Nostalgic, Bittersweet Standout Tracks: “Dusk Can Dance,” “Bright Belief,” “The Way Things Looked” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Warm, Nostalgic Instrumentals [Ambient, Neoclassical, Soft Guitar]
HAMMOCK – NEVERTHELESS
Quick Take: Another notable Hammock release carrying their signature blend of ethereal glow and heart-wrenching sorrow. “Requiem for Johan” hits especially hard, and is one of the most beautiful things they’ve done lately.
| From: Nashville, Tennessee, United States RIYL/FFO: Ambient, Post-rock Mood/Sound: Ethereal, Wistful, Sorrowful Standout Tracks: “Requiem for Johan,” “Breath Inside Your Breath,” “All Flesh Is Grass” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companions: Sad, Melancholic Instrumentals [Ambient, Neoclassical, Soft Guitar] | Ambient & Neoclassical
OLIVIA FONT – INVICTAM
Quick Take: Font’s debut Invictam hits with a vivid sense of identity, sharpened by Ana San Martín’s striking vocal presence and Oliver Coates’ cello. Its experimental leanings give it an edge that should appeal to both dark ambient and post-classical listeners.
| From: Spain RIYL/FFO: Neoclassical, Dark Ambient Mood/Sound: Atmospheric, Dark, Experimental Standout Tracks: “Redemption,” “Visions,” “I See You” |
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Playlist Companion: Dark Ambient & Drone
Leave a Reply to Roy Ihara Cancel reply