Favorite Instrumental Rock Albums of 2025

 

One of my favorite genre rabbit holes that I went down in 2025 was instrumental rock music. That title covers a lot of styles from post-rock to stoner rock to prog rock to cosmic country to fusion to psych rock etc. I've always listened to music that falls into this category whether it's Khruangbin or Causa Sui or Oren Ambarchi but this year my interest in this genre exploded. 

So I thought I would create a mix of some of my favorite instrumental rock albums from 2025. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the heavy stuff. This mix has a nice blend of a few heavy tunes with some Khruangbin-like tracks, a couple kraut rock style tracks, a jam band cut, a prog tune, even a dub track, and a bunch of other difficult to categorize music. 

>>>LINKS TO ALL THE MUSIC USED IN THIS MIX<<<

01 - https://actiontensionspace.bandcamp.com/album/new-dimensions

02 - https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/yawning-man-pavement-ends

03 - https://ambarchiberthlingwerliin.bandcamp.com/album/ghosted-iii

04 - https://elparaisorecords.com/product/causa-sui-in-flux/

05 - https://piotrkurek.bandcamp.com/album/songs-and-bodies

06 - https://elparaisorecords.com/product/edena-gardens-dispossessed/

07- https://barrywalker.bandcamp.com/album/barry-walker-unit-at-the-13th-moon-gravity-well

08 - https://jeffthebrotherhood.bandcamp.com/album/magick-songs

09 - https://kungensman.bandcamp.com/album/resande-i-rockmusik

10 - https://markusreuter.bandcamp.com/album/truce-3

11 - https://re-stoned.bandcamp.com/album/the-loom-maxi-single

12 - https://townportal.bandcamp.com/album/grindwork

13 - https://holmisanisland.bandcamp.com/album/behind-curtains

14 - https://yuuf.bandcamp.com/album/alma-s-cove

15 - https://eliwinter.bandcamp.com/album/a-trick-of-the-light

I know this isn't the usual LLM ambient fare but it is still somehow trance inducing. I hope you enjoy this deviation from ambient bliss.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

01)  00:00   Action & Tension & Space - Folkemusikk fra Kvala (New Dimensions 2025)
02)  04:47   Yawning Man - Bomba Negra (Pavement Ends 2025)
03)  09:45   Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin - Chahar (Ghosted  III 2025)
04)  15:49   Causa Sui - The Circus is Back (In Flux 2025)
05)  17:32   Piotr Kurek - Nothing Holds Still (Songs And Bodies 2025)
06)  22:26   Edena Gardens - Fills The Well (Dispossessed 2025)
07)  27:50   Barry Walker Unit - High in the Hummocks (At the 13th Moon Gravity Well 2025)
08)  32:51   Jeff The Brotherhood - Many Moons Dub (Magick Songs in Dub 2025)
09)  37:27   Kungens Män - Resande i rockmusik  (Resande i rockmusik 2025)
10)  42:40   Markus Reuter - We Have Your Back (Truce <3 2025)
11)  47:20   The Re-Stoned - The Loom (The Loom 2025)
12)  52:24   Town Portal - Gold-Plated (Grindwork 2025)
13)  56:18   Holm - Behind Curtains (Behind Curtains 2025)
14)  60:08   Yuuf - Alma’s Cove (Alma's Cove 2025)
15)  63:37   Eli Winter - A Trick of the Light (A Trick of the Light 2025)
       67:16   end

Fractal Panorama - Guitar Space Rock

 

Seven years ago I did a mix called "Space Rock" that is unique in the Low Light Mixes catalog. It's a collection of instrumental tunes that are guitar driven and are a bit spacey, a little prog rock, with some post-rock tossed in as well. You can find to original mix here: http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2015/04/space-rock.html

I've always wanted to do a follow-up mix but never got around to until now. So here is "Fractal Panorama - Guitar Space Rock". It's a set of new and old instrumentals with the same vibe as the first mix. I was happy to have dug up some really old cuts from 1972, '73 & '74. I was especially psyched to have stumbled on the Richard Pinhas homage to Robert Fripp with the track "In the Wake of King Fripp" from 1974. But my favorite cut in the mix is "Slowburn" by Sonar With David Torn. It's got this great, slightly menacing vibe to it.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    The Re-Stoned - Fractal Panorama (Stories of the Astral Lizard 2018)
• 09:50    Dungen - Kalifen(versio) (Haxan - Versions by Prins Thomas 2017)
• 17:20    Agitation Free - First Communication (2nd 1973)
• 22:46    Maat Lander - Planet of the Intelligent Gas-shaped Lifeforms (Seasons of Space Book #12017)
• 27:50    Sonar With David Torn - Slowburn (Tranceportation Vol. 2 2020)
• 37:00    Papir - IIII (IIII 2014)
• 41:50    Achim Reichel & Machines - Invitations (Echo 1972)\
• 46:45    Heldon - In the Wake of King Fripp (Allez Teia 1974)
• 53:12    My Brother the Wind - Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One (Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One 2014)
• 56:32    My Brother the Wind - Epilogue (Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One 2014)
• 60:49    end