Complex Distractions Presesnts : Favorite Albums Of 2025 – Jazz/Ambient/Experimental

I’m kind of at a loss for words regarding the fact we’re about 2 weeks away from the beginning of 2026. It feels like we’ve traveled through an entire year; ups, downs, outs, ins, and everything in-between leaving plenty of emotional, mental, and even physical scars along the way. But to actually say “2026” out loud feels absurd. I’m both relieved and a bit disappointed that we don’t have flying cars or jet packs for every household yet. I mean, the first Blade Runner took place in 2019. Rick Deckard had a flying car, people! Plus, sure, lots of pollution and giant fire-breathing smokestacks, but we have those in most steel refineries now.

Anyways, while I’m knocking those ideas around in my head I was also thinking about the year in music. It’s been a fantastic one, at least to my ears. There have been some record labels that have dominated my ears with releases that have remained constantly running both on the turntable and in my brain. International Anthem Records, El Paraiso Records, Past Inside The Present, zakè drone recordings and the great Blue Note Records have released some of the most compelling albums of the year.

Today I’m talking about my favorite jazz/ambient/experimental albums of the year. There will be two other favorite lists; one will be favorite rock albums and the other will be favorite electronic albums. Next week I will cull my favorite overall albums of 2025 from those lists. There was so much good stuff that I felt this would be the easiest way to approach putting these lists together. Not quite as daunting, anyways.

So without further adieu, here’s my favorite jazz/ambient/experimental records of 2025.

10. Nels Cline : Consentrik Quartet

I didn’t discover Nels Cline via his experimental/jazz albums over the past 25-30 years. I discovered him via him joining Wilco in 2004. Watching what he did to bring the songs from A Ghost Is Born alive while they toured that year made him instantly one of my favorite guitarists. Not only was he an actual shredder(“Side With The Seeds” on Sky Blue Sky…wow!), but he was a master of layering and coloring sonic colors through a bevy of noise boxes and manipulation.

But of course I went back and listened to a bunch of his solo records from before and since he’s joined Wilco, and he’s made some mind-blowing music. My favorites have been his Blue Note releases, and this year’s Consentrik Quartet is among my favorites. Here’s what I had to say when I reviewed this earlier this year : “With his Wilco gig, Nels Cline can fulfill his love of The Grateful Dead, The Byrds, and play as much pedal steel as his heart desires. When he’s writing for himself the sky’s the limit. Consentrik Quartet goes into the stratosphere, and then some. Far out jazz and experimentalism at its finest.” –J Hubner

9. Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson, Carlos Nino : Openness Trio

A truly fascinating jazz trio that seems to bring both chaos and meditative peace into their eccentric take on jazz. Cosmic and lost in some naturalistic landscape, this trio of unmatched musicians build grand worlds through musical exploration.

“Openness Trio is awash in electronic tones thanks to Nate Mercereau’s guitar sounding more like a synthesizer than a guitar. Johnson and Niño equally give their instruments new sounds and sonic adjustments, making these songs otherworldly. And with 5 songs coming in just under 40 minutes there’s plenty of space for these three to explore and create.” – J Hubner

8. Marine Eyes : Quiet Circle

Cynthia Bernard when making music under her Marine Eyes moniker seems to encapsulate a kind of cosmic peace. Her songs are filled with a hopefulness while never forgetting that the world can also feel hopeless. Her music, a mixture of electronics and ethereal vocals, never forgets that at the heart of sound is a human at its core. Quiet Circle is built around nostalgia and memory, two of the brightest colors on the musical easel.

“Marine Eyes’ thoughtful and nostalgic Quiet Circle is another stunning addition to Cynthia Bernard’s discography. A musical journey built around a child’s unencumbered mind, seen to fruition through sound and emotion.” – J Hubner

7. zakè(featuring various artists) : Silentium

zakè(aka Zach Frizzell) is at the center of what is easily the biggest modern movement of ambient/new age music. He’s built a community of like-minded creatives that want to make music that will pull you from the day to day hustle and bustle to allow you just breathe. Take in the air with purpose, as more than just involuntary survivor instinct. Working with amazing artists on both the Past Inside The Present and zake drone recordings, he’s built goodwill and friendship. Which is at the heart of the compilation Silentium. 22 songs in which Frizzell collaborates with fellow ambient artists to create a journey-like record via found sound and Frizzell’s compositional prowess through electronic manipulation.

“From “Patriam(ft. From Overseas)” to the epic 11-minute reality escape of “Tenebris(ft. Angela Winter)” to beautiful, cavernous closer “Melius Cras”, Silentium is an engaging and riveting set of collaborative works. zakè brings the worlds of found sound and ambient music together in a wholly new and vibrant way. Hit play and get lost.” –J Hubner

6. Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer : Different Rooms

The musical partnership between Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer is a rich and boundless one. A mix of chamber music, classical, and electronic explorations the electronic wizard(Chiu) and strings master(Honer) build complex, beautiful sound worlds together, never going for less than singular. Their collaboration this year was the wonderful Different Rooms, an album the two musicians wanted to feel more composed and song-structured as opposed to improvisational. They succeeded in making one of the best records of the year to my ears.

“With Different Rooms, the musicians wanted to make something that felt present. And these songs do feel present, eliciting an emotional call and response from the ears to the brain to the heart. Sometimes sounding like cinema, other times touching on composers like Steve Reich and Terry Riley with looping melodies melting into the background. Different Rooms begs for repeated listens, and it grows on you with each needle drop.” –J Hubner

5. Gerald Clayton : Ones & Twos

One of the biggest surprises of 2025 for me was Gerald Clayton’s excellent Ones & Twos. The jazz pianist’s complex compositions feel both heady yet loose. I first heard Clayton in the jazz ensemble Out Of/Into on last year’s Motion I(Motion II just dropped a week ago), and I knew I’d heard something great. With Ones & Twos Gerald Clayton makes a more refined, sparse jazz record. These are the kinds of songs that hit in more subtle ways. And there’s always a groove that hits you from out of nowhere.

“But on his newest and sixth LP(and second on the legendary Blue Note Records) Ones & Twos, Clayton expands his sound and sonic palate. It still has the contemporary approach heard on albums like Two-Shade and Bells On Sand, but there’s a funkier, groovier side here. Touches of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Joe Zawinul come thru, making Ones & Twos one of the best jazz albums you’ll hear this year.” – J Hubner

4. Billow Observatory : The Glass Curtain

The dystopian electronic duo of Billow Observatory(Jonas Munk and Jason Kolb) have been making cavernous, psychedelic ambient/drone music for well over a decade now. It’s the kind of music one tends to drop in and disappear to some other mind frame. It’s not the meditative world of ambient, as much as it is dark, LSD-tinged psychedelic drone that would be better for a sensory deprivation tank than meditative calm. The Glass Curtain is one of their finest records yet(with their 2019 masterpiece III: Chroma/Contour as my personal favorite.)

“From the synthetic buzz of “Shadow Through The Eyelet”, symphonic landscape of “Arise and Perish” and the epic nearly 10-minute closer “Sundial”, Billow Observatory have made a thoughtful, impressionistic music journey with The Glass Curtain. Masterful sound manipulation with plenty of emotional depth. An amorphous and emotional musical statement.” – J Hubner

3. Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes : Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes

Another big surprise for me this year was the debut of Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes. These three musicians are all part of this new era of jazz which sees younger musicians combining the worlds of ambient, jazz, and experimental in new, exciting ways. There’s so much to love with this album, which finds this trio of saxophone, bass, and guitar exploring how far-reaching these instruments can go, and how emotionally engaging they can be. Layering and processing everything through effects, this album is unlike anything you’ve heard.

“Over the course of 36 minutes this trio of longtime friends and bandmates build on motifs, and with the help of some cosmic effects transform their instruments into time machines and world builders. And closing this record on a cover of The Beatles’ “The Fool On The Hill” seems absolutely perfect. They turn a maudlin track into something bordering on transcendent. Spaced out and elegant.” – J Hubner

2. Makaya McCraven : Off The Record

Makaya McCraven’s Off The Record is this smorgasbord of sound, feel, and groove that is never not satisfying for the senses. A collection of 4-new EPs, Off The Record puts them all together under one sonic roof and it’s funky, rhythmic, and brings McCraven’s studio prowess to the forefront. After the emotive and timeless In These Times, Makaya McCraven brings back his cut n paste style(ala Miles and Macero), giving us one of the most vital albums of 2025.

“Makaya McCraven has returned, this time with four EPs with varying moods and vibes. Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop cover lots of ground; from sly funky jams to rhythmic adventures to the adventurous boom bap of hip hop, all of them going through Makaya McCraven’s unique and singular creative production and off the cuff twists and turns. All the EPs have been compiled into the double LP Off The Record and is one of the best albums of the year.” – J Hubner

And number one….

SML : How You Been

It’s hard for me to describe SML’s How You Been. Their debut Small Medium Large was one of my favorite albums of 2024, so for them to turn around drop a sophomore album in November of 2025 was a much welcome surprise. Where their self-titled debut hinted at what we had to look forward to with album number two, I wasn’t expecting something quite as phenomenal as How You Been. While still technically on point and expertly built, these songs feel more alive and fun. It hits everything from Remain in Light-era Talking Heads to early 80s Bowie to even 80s Cluster in exciting ways. It’s an album that defies category, while still definitely hitting these elevated jazz vibes. And Jeremiah Chiu’s electronic layering gives it all an ethereal feel. A truly one-of-a-kind of album.

“There’s no single misstep, and every song connects intellectually and with a constant groove. From “Brood Board Shroom” and its wavering electronics to title track “How You Been” and its On The Corner-meets-Cluster & Eno futuristic street funk. And album closer “Mouth Words” is ripe for sampling, ready for any MC that wants to make their mark.” –J Hubner

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Here’s some other great albums as well :

Tortoise : Touch

Out of/Into : Motion II

Tom Skinner : Kaleidoscopic Visions

Macie Stewart : When The Distance Is Blue

Angela Winter : Forbidden Questions In Space

Slow Blink : Letters Home

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Okay, there you go. We’re just getting started folks, so stay tuned.