re-animator playlist

Here is a Spotify playlist of music referenced in my poetry collection, Re-Animator.

Re-Animator is available to order from Indolent Books. Cover photograph by Michael Galinsky.

epic: elvis presley in concert

My review of Baz Luhrmann's bombastic, fairly dazzling concert doc EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, here at Film-Forward.

 

singing

New from Gia Margaret is the album Singing, produced by Guy Sigsworth.

Per Secretly Store,

"Led by soft piano lines and a voice that feels newly trusted, Singing is intimate without being fragile. It's an album about reconnecting with old parts of yourself, without pretending the years in between didn't matter."

Pre-order here from Secretly Store.

Listen to the single, "Everyone Around Me Dancing," below.

 

jeffery berg's top 10 singles of 2025!

Here goes my Top 10 singles of 2025!

10.

Voodoo / Micah Dailey-White 

A grand, mischievous neo-soul doozy.

9. 

Night to Night / The Magician

The Magician dizzy dance song reworks Baltimora's "Tarazan Boy" with a murderous bass lick.

8.

Ends Meet / Panda Bear

A dreamy, swirling confection.

7.

Crème Brûlée / David Archuleta

Criminally overlooked sticky, slinky pop number.

6.

Relationships / Haim

The harmonies are gorgeous on Haim's topsy turvy, mixed emotion relationship drama.

5.

Orlando in Love / Japanese Breakfast

Referencing the poetry of Matteo Maria Boiardo, this song is a wonderful mesh of Michelle Zauner's vulnerable vocals with a longing, guitar strummed melody.

4.

Dracula / Tame Impala

The party goes on into the AM, with Tame Impala's infectious clubber. A refreshing ditty to hit the pop charts this year.

3. 

Sweet Danger / Obongjayar

Obongjayar's bumping banger delivers simmering seduction. 

2. 

Before You Break My Heart / Jade

Effectively sampling The Supremes with a rubbery pop beat, Jade's notched another sublime tune in her young discography.

1. 

Puddle of (Me) / Saya Gray

With its echoing beats and layered guitars and catchy chord changes, this unique tune from the talented Canadian artist goes on a surprising journey.

 

All the best of 2025 is available below on my Spotify list!

jeffery berg's top 10 albums of 2025!

2025 brought forth a slew of tense, fraught records across all genres.

10.

NO VALIDATION / Che Noir & The Other Guys

Mesmerizing flows, jazzy beats and contemplative lyrics from the New York-based rapper and production duo. 

9.

THE SUMMER PORTRAITS / Ludovico Einaudi

Before Summer broke, I planted marigolds to Einaudi's pleasing melodies and orchestrations on this disc of ekphrastic pieces.

8.

LET GOD SORT 'EM OUT / Clipse

Clipse's first album in over 15 years, is plentiful with crisp, Pharrell-produced tracks. Nearly every cut kills.

7.

WEST END GIRL / Lily Allen

Terse and achingly sad, Allen's delivered what could be one of the all-time tell-all's. 

6.

LOTUS / Little Simz

A continuation of Little Simz's grand talents boiled down to a more stripped-down than usual, but still potent, effort.

5.

I QUIT / HAIM

Sunny Californian melodies and breezy idiosyncrasies shine on the sisters's wide-ranging, relentlessly appealing record.

4.

THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! / JADE    

The long-awaited full LP release from JADE, whose litany of previous singles were heavyweights since 2024, delivered and then some.

3. 

DON'T TAP THE GLASS / Tyler, the Creator

Another vivacious work from the talented artist (his last record, 2024's Chromakopia, was also extraordinary). This one is in a poppier, vintage R&B vein. Th album was marketed with brilliant anti-marketing marketing. 

2.

EURASEXUA / EURASEXUA AFTERGLOW / FKA twigs

An elegant mishmash of pop and electronica over FKA twigs' gossamer vocals.

1.

PARADISE NOW / Obongjayar

I hadn't really listened to Nigerian, London-based Obongjayar's solo work prior to 2025 (his Little Simz duet, "Point and Kill," a 2021 jewel), his bouncy, deceptively pleasurable sophomore record quickly became a favorite. 

I associate utopia with a destination. We’re constantly searching for a better “elsewhere”, because our current situation never seems good enough. But the ugliness we project onto our environment is just a mental construct, as if we had created the very obstacles we wish to overcome. On that cover, I’m trying to break through a glass ceiling – the one I created myself. -Obongjayar

Obongjayar photo by George Muncey.

A look back at my Top 10 of 2024 when the Pet Shop Boys slayed.

A massive Spotify playlist of all my 2025 favorites here!

liquorice

Hatchie has just announced the release of her new record, Liquorice, due November 7th via Secretly Canadian. 

Per the press release, Hatchie says, “This album feels like the culmination of everything I’ve wanted to do with this project since I first started it. I focused on the finer details of the trajectory of love found and lost, inspired by my favorite tragic romance films. I’ve never felt more aligned with an album and can’t wait to share the experience with everyone.”

Music video for single "Lose It Again" below.

ms. pac man

Sudan Archives murders on new single "MS. PAC MAN."

Album, THE BPM, drops in October.

Video is directed by Aris Chatman.

via Stones Throw 

it's never over, jeff buckley

My review of Amy Berg's thoughtful, affecting documentary on Jeff Buckley is now up here at Film-Forward.

via Magnolia Pictures

gone, gone, gone

Madonna's demo of "Gone, Gone, Gone" gets its first official release!

Veronica Electronica is forthcoming with a July 25th date.

garland jeffreys: the king of in between

My review of the documentary Garland Jeffreys: The King of in Between is now up here at Film-Forward.

The film, directed by his partner of over 40 years, Claire Jeffreys, with a few starry talking heads, is a revealing overview of his career and music that should appeal to both longtime fans and the uninitiated.

veronica electronica

from Madonna's site:

Veronica Electronica arrives July 25 on silver vinyl and digitally. Vinyl orders from Madonna.com and Rhino.com will include an exclusive silver mylar lithograph. 

Veronica Electronica, an eight-track companion to Ray of Light, was originally envisioned by Madonna as a remix album in 1998. The project was ultimately sidelined by the original album’s runaway success and the parade of hit singles that dominated the spotlight for more than a year. Ray of Light went on to sell over 16 million copies worldwide and earned Madonna four GRAMMY® Awards, including Best Pop Album.

More than 25 years later, that long-rumored concept finally comes to life. The collection features newly edited versions of club remixes by Peter Rauhofer, William Orbit, Sasha, BT, and Victor Calderone, along with the original demo of “Gone, Gone, Gone”—a previously unreleased recording produced by Madonna and Rick Nowels.

Order vinyl here.

it girl

Okay, here goes another banger from JADE, the industry-skewering "IT girl."

That's 4/4 for her singles so far!

disco nap

Lovely that Friday has been graced with "Disco Nap," a pleasant collabo between Polo & Pan and Metronomy.