Episodes
-
Halfway through 2026! You can listen to other podcasts for retrospectives of all the crazy shit that has happened so far this year, but the one thing I'm sure we all have in common is agreeing that so far, the year has....not been great! I'm talking about the music. As in the new music this year so far hasn't been great. Was that clear? Other podcasts that specialize in a topic... as, I guess, most do, if asked their feelings about the first half of the year, would say it wasn't great. So would this one. Why am I even doing this? I barely talk about this in the episode. Instead I talk about the albums below!
Chanel Beads - Your Day Will Come
Converge - Hum of Hurt
Nirosta Steel - MY SKYSCRAPER
Olivia Rodrigo - you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love
Soft Curse - Liminal Ritual
Truck Violence - The weathervane is my body
Quiet Fear - La Tierra Arriva / El Abismo Abajo
Warning - Rituals of Shame
-
I'm almost as shocked as you are that this episode exists. I had to reach into my deepest depths to drag this one out of me. And I'm glad I did. Recording these is fun! Probably a lot more fun than actually listening to it anyway. I wouldn't know to be honest. Anyway, here we are. Let's talk about May. When I actually had an opportunity to listen to them, there were actually a lot of great albums in May! A few that will certainly stand the test of time as the year goes on, which is something I haven't been able to say about most records I've heard this year. Plus Drake. Albums discussed below!
Boards of Canada - Inferno
Drake - Habibti
Drake - Iceman
Drake - Maid of Honour
Elder - Through Zero
Iceage - For the Love of Grace & the Hereafter
Koyo - Barely There
Panopticon - Det hjemsøkte hjertet
Pharmacist - Vertebrae After Vertebrae
Static Dress - Injury Episode
Visible Cloaks - Paradessence
-
Episodes manquant?
-
Usually March is the month where winter finally decides to release its chokehold over us and give us long awaited reprieve. Unfortunately this was not the case this year. As I sit and type this on April 12, snow was still falling as of just a few days ago. Fortunately everything else in the world is going alright! Lol. But enough of that, how was the music? Mostly...fine...but one surprise release blew everything else that's come out this year out of the water. Speaking of surprises, a long-awaited return of...something occurs in this episode that long time fans have been clamouring for! At least in my head, anyway. Albums discussed below!
Bosse-de-Nage - Hidden Fires Burn Hottest
Chamber - this is goodbye...
ELUCID - I Guess U Had To Be There
James Blake - Trying Times
Kim Gordon - PLAY ME
Neurosis - An Undying Love for a Burning World
OLTH - O.
Poison the Well - Peace in Place
-
Welcome to the February 2026 edition of ph5. Please ignore today's date! It's irrelevant! Okay actually it's not. You'll learn why when you listen. That's not important though. What's important is that February was a killer month for new music. It was also a month that raised a few interesting questions for me, like what do we expect out of legends in their late careers? How important is being young to heavy music? Is there a mass psychosis on rock radio stations where the past 15 years don't exist? I don't really provide the answers to these questions but I sure do talk about them! Albums discussed below!
Charli XCX - Wuthering Heights
Converge - Love is Not Enough
Eyelet - Solenoid
Gorillaz - The Mountain
hemlocke springs - the apple tree under the sea
Mors Verum - Canvas
MX Lonely - All Monsters
Vibora - Egin Ez Dugun Guztia
-
It's cold outside. Like really cold outside. Is this the coldest January in a while? It certainly feels like it. January has been ice cold in terms of temperature, but to be honest, kinda also in terms of new music releases as well. So yeah, don't exactly go in expecting an all timer of an episode here. I did manage to salvage the episode though - barely - kinda like how vehicle owners were barely able to salvage their cars from underneath the 400 ft of snow we got this month. Oh yeah, happy new year and welcome back to the show! I waste enough of your time in the actual episode itself so I'm going to stop doing so in the description. Albums discussed below:
A*** Trump - F***** B****
A$AP Rocky - Don't Be Dumb
By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost
Colossal Rains - Feral Sorrow
Feels Like Heaven - Within Dreams
IDK - e.t.d.s. A Mixtape by .idk.
Joyce Manor - I Used To Go To This Bar
Stabbing - Eon of Obscenity
-
Lot of fun weird number stuff going on here. This is the last episode of the 5th season of ph5...5x5=25. This episode covers my top 25 record of 2025. So yeah! That's a thing I noticed. Cool right. But anyway that's it, the year's over, and that means a podcast about lists could only end with one thing - one more list, but a bigger one this time. Overall, 2025...pretty solid. Lots of great records with a few potential all timers.
In the past I've been a dick about it and made you listen to the episode to see the list but I've softened in my old age so here it is below. See you next year.
25. Militarie Gun - God Save the Gun
24. hell - submersus
23. Anxious - Bambi
22. Armand Hammer - Mercy
21. Blood Orange - Essex Honey
20. Lamp of Murmuur - The Dreaming Prince in Ecstacy
19. Kathryn Mohr - Waiting Room
18. Yellow Eyes - Confusion Gate
17. Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
16. Dean Blunt - lucre
15. The Mars Volta - Lucro sucio
14. Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
13. La Dispute - No One Was Driving The Car
12. aya - hexed!
11. Sudan Archives - The BPM
10. Turnstile - Never Enough
9. Nourished by Time - The Passionate Ones
8. billy woods - GOLLIWOG
7. Sanguisugabogg - Hideous Aftermath
6. Bad Bunny - Debir Tiras Mas Fotos
5. Rosalia - Lux
4. Purelink - Faith
3. Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka
2. Deftones - private music
1. Oklou - Choke Enough
-
Putting out a best of November episode in the midst of the week where every publication is releasing their year end lists makes this whole thing feel about as futile as you can imagine. But the year's not over yet!! Like I've seen so many pubs putting the Cameron Winter album and songs on their year end lists and its like yo! That album came out last year! Maybe if you hadn't jumped the gun on your round ups you wouldn't be in this ridiculous situation. Anyway. November was absolutely stacked. Albums discussed below.
Armand Hammer - Mercy
The Avett Brothers & Mike Patton - AVTT/PTTN
Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough Vol. II
Ben Quad - Wisher
Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons
Lamp of Murmuur - The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy
Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
Rosalia - Lux
-
The only thing spookier than Halloween is when Halloween falls on a Friday, adding another slate of releases for me to get through before I can sufficiently start recording. Not to make it sound like a chore or anything! In fact, October was one of the strongest months of the year in terms of new releases. I'm just making excuses for my lateness. I was doing so good for like, a month or two there. This was another one of those months where any number of records could've hit that number one spot and I had to make some really tough decisions that I will probably regret later. That's what life's all about though really. Albums discussed below!
AFI - Silver Bleeds the Black Sun
Blawan - SickElixir
Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo - Into the Earth Again
Militarie Gun - God Save the Gun
Sanguisugabogg - Hideous Aftermath
Stay Inside - Lunger
Sudan Archives - The BPM
Yellow Eyes - Confusion Gate
-
I can't remember the last time I actually dropped an episode on the first of the new month. Is it because I'm that eager to talk about September's music? I just have nothing better to do? A healthy mix of both? I'm back in the right headspace to really enjoy new music again, so September's episode was a lot of fun for me! With only a few solid months of new releases left, each passing month has more pressure on it to deliver the goods. How did September do? Tune in and find out. Albums discussed below!
Ariel Pink - With You Every Night
Cardi B - Am I The Drama?
Deaf Club - We Demand A Permanent State of Happiness
Doja Cat - Vie
Geese - Getting Killed
Joanne Robertson - Blurrr
La Dispute - No One Was Driving The Car
Maruja - Pain to Power
-
Timbaland voice It's been a long time...I shouldn't have left you....that's right folks after a delayed absence we are BACK! Why the absence? Well you'll just have to go ahead and listen to find out won't you? Given the delay I am a bit rusty, so what better way to shake that rust off by doing a deep dive on my favourite thing in the entire world to talk about. That's right, this month's episode is a bit different as instead of rambling about new music releases, I am rambling about my all time favouite band Deftones, as I look to determine where their new record sits along their all time great discography. We'll pick up traditional ph5 format episodes next month, but for now this is kinda all I really wanna talk about okay?
-
Insanely late again ok but at least I have a good excuse this time. What's the excuse? And what's this so called 'twist' I'm referring to in the episode title? Listen and find out! I can't be giving everything away in these little blurb things. I already tell you the albums I talk about which in my opinion is more than enough. I actually started doing that back in the first season of the show when my friend Will politely asked me to include them and I don't think he's listened to the show in years. Oh well old habits die hard or whatever. Plus including them gives me an opportunity to tag the artists I talk about when I post about it. Although honestly some artists probably wish I didn't. Anyway. Albums discussed below!
Addison Rae - Addison
Higher Power - There's Love In This World If You Want It
Joliette - Pérdidas Variables
Lorde - Virgin
Purelink - Faith
Putridity - Morbid Ataraxia
Turnstile - Never Enough
-
Two things! Firstly, yes ok this episode is very late. Maybe the latest ever. But at least it's here ok? I'm busy! Sorry! Secondly, I have no idea where the Mentions soundbite has disappeared off to. I'ff track it down for next time. Ok now that we've got those out of the way, hi and welcome back to ph5! This time around we're talking about May 2025 releases. May is a special month for me because I was both born in it and it's my last name. That said, May kinda sucked. But the music didn't! Take a listen to the episode and see for yourself. Albums discussed below!
Alan Sparhawk - With Trampled By Turtles
billy woods - Golliwog
The Callous Daoboys - I Don't Want To See You In Heaven
Emma Goldman - all you are is we
Miley Cyrus - Something Beautiful
Model/Actriz - Pirouette
These New Puritans - Crooked Wing
yeule - Evangelical Girl Is A Gun
-
Wherein I go in way over my head and talk about shit that I have absolutely no business talking about. But that's part of the fun of this whole thing isn't it? How can you best articulate what is swirling around in your head, even if you barely understand it yourself? I had to bend some of the sacred rules in this episode and I'm sorry about that but I would have truly been remiss to not talk about a few of the records I missed last month. Don't worry I filed a complaint with management on all of your behalf. Albums discussed below!
aya - hexed!
Djrum - Under Tangled Silence
Heavy Heavy Low Low - Pain Olympics
Jane Remover - Revengeseekerz
Los Thuthanka - Los Thuthunaka
The Mars Volta - Lucro sucio; Los ojo del vacio
Snooze - I Know How You'll Die
Viagra Boys - viagr aboys
-
Shit was looking pretty dicey for a minute there I'm not gonna lie. The very fate of ph5 podcast hung by a thread...would it survive or would it perish after four long, fruitful years? Thankfully, March came ready with the goods. March was easily the best month for new music yet in 2025, with the return of some old favourites and some promising new upstarts. It was also the month with the most significant amount of new heavy music release. Surely just a coincidence. Repeat after me: everything is going to be just fine. Albums discussed below:
Backxwash - Only Dust Remains
Corpus Offal - Corpus Offal
Deafheaven - Lonely People with Power
Imperial Triumphant - Goldstar
Mikau - Agartha
Playboi Carti - Music
Teitanblood - From The Visceral Abyss
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
-
Who named this dumbass month though? Seriously? I stand by February is the worst month of the year and its ridiculous name doesn't really help its case. Did the music of February redeem it? Well...kind of. There were a bunch of good to pretty good records out this month but we're two months into the year and I can't honestly say I've heard anything GREAT yet. Really selling this episode aren't I! It's still worth a listen I swear! Albums discussed below:
Anxious - Bambi
Darkside - Nothing
oklou - choke enough
Panda Bear - Sinister Grift
Pissgrave - Malignant Worthlessness
Richard Dawson - The End of the Middle
Vacuous - In His Blood
venturing - Ghostholding
-
We're back! And we're late! But we're back. ph5, one or two people's favourite monthly music roundup show returns with some big life updates and some good old fashioned music chats. Some of the biggest artists in the world are featured in this month's episode. After drifting further and further into obscurity has Phil finally sold out? Yeah probably! Can you blame him! Albums discussed below.
askysoblack - Touch Heaven
Bad Bunny - Debí Tirar Màs Fotos
Boldy James - Murder During Drug Traffic / Permanent Ink
Ethel Cain - Perverts
fka twigs - Eusexua
Kathryn Mohr - Waiting Room
MIKE - Showbiz!
The Weeknd - Hurry Up Tomorrow
-
Originally this episode was going to be at least an hour longer and begin with a really stupid drawn out bit about Santa Claus but all those recordings ended up being unusable so you're getting this instead! You're off the hook this time. It's always fun to look back on a full year of music and attempt to arbitrarily rank them to see how your thoughts and feelings towards records shift as time goes on. One takeaway? 2024 was one of the better years for new music in a while. Albums discussed below in alphabetical order. If you want the actual ranking you'll have to listen to the episode! Yeah! I'm a sicko like that! See you in 2025.
Actress - Statik
Adam Wiltzie - Eleven Fugues for Sodium Pentothal
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
Boldy James - Across the Tracks
Ceremony of Silence - Hàlios
Charli xcx - BRAT
Chat Pile - Cool World
Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
Civerous - Mazy Envy
Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal
Floating Points - Cascade
Foxing - Foxing
Infant Island - Obsidian Wreath
Julia Holter - Something In the Room She Moves
Kali Malone - All Life Long
Kali Uchis - Orquídeas
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
Mitocondrion - Vetriseptome
Mustafa - DUNYA
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God
oso oso - life till bones
Paysage D'hiver - Die Berge
Spirit of the Beehive - You'll Have To Lose Something
State Faults - Children of the Moon
Stay Inside - Ferried Away
-
Episode 50. What the hell. Make it make sense. In this episode, I attempt to do so, along with talking about my favourite records of November. It's been a wild ride, thanks for sticking with me. Here's to the next 50. Albums discussed below:
The Body - The Crying Out of All Things
Boldy James - The Bricktionary
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
Paysage D'hiver - Die Berge
Kendrick Lamar - GNX
Mitochondrion - Vetriseptome
-
Too much going on! There was no way I was going to be able to contain October's episode to the standard 8 album format so I went a bit overboard. Don't blame me, blame all the artists releasing thought provoking music last month. I'm a victim of circumstance. Lots to talk about this month so stop reading this stupid episode description and start listening! Albums discussed below:
Better Lovers - Highly Irresponsible
Black Curse - Burning in Celestial Poison
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
Charli XCX - brat and it's completely different but it's still brat
Chat Pile - Cool World
Cosmic Putrefaction - Emerald Fires Atop The Farewell Mountains
ELUCID - REVELATOR
Halsey - The Great Impersonator
Immortal Bird - Sin Querencia
Lowen - Do Not Go To War Tith The Demons Of Mazandaran
Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja
-
September! The kids go back to school, the months all start ending in 'ber'...I wonder if that's because it gets colder out, so everybody is always saying 'brr'. Could be. Anyway here's a new episode of ph5. This episode almost didn't happen as I wasn't feeling great but it's okay. I'm feeling better now. Appreciate your concern. Lots of great records this month that moved me both physically and emotionally. Maybe not so much mentally. Also, if you can, please donate to Spirit of the Beehive's gofundme (https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-spirit-of-the-beehive-recover-stolen-gear) as they had over $100,000 worth of gear stolen a few days ago while on tour and they need all they help they can get. They are an amazing band and lovely people so they deserve it. Albums discussed below:
Alan Spearhawk - White Roses, My God
Floating Points - Cascade
Foxing - Foxing
Heriot - Devoured by the Mouth of Hell
Jamie xx - In Waves
Madara - Gorephiliac
Midwife - No Depression In Heaven
Pyrrhon - Exhaust
- Montre plus
