Colin Gray (right) with Kim Salmon.
It’s been another productive year at Vicious Kitten Records with new album releases by Kevin K & The Bowery Kats, Pillbox NYC and (next month) the new album by Melbourne outfit Girl Monstar, who have reformed and recorded a new album after a 30 year hiatus!
Before I get to my top 10, I want to acknowledge the efforts of two cats who are responsible for the incredible sound and artwork on the Vicious Kitten releases – being sound wiz Ernie O at his Urban Fringe Compound, and the best graphic artist in the biz, Mark Rubenstein. I cannot recommend these two guys enough. If you need creative design/art for your project in 2026, Mark is your man. In terms of rock ‘n’ roll highpoints for the year just gone, it’s challenging to narrow it down to 10, but here goes……..
1. Chris Masuak’s Dog Soldier - "Chris Masuak’s Dog Soldier"
Chris Klondike Masuak returned in 2025 with renewed fire in the belly and creative juices overflowing to deliver one of THE rock albums of the year. Masuak has released many killer solo albums – but this is arguably his magnum opus. That’s not a statement I make lightly either, given the high calibre of material on 2019's "Address To The Nation" and 2016's "Brujita" albums in particular. I’ve stated many times that as a solo artist the rock 'n' roll he is crafting stands on its on merit and is on par with the output of any of his previous bands. Dog Soldier goes one better. The songs are killer, the playing is first rate, the sound is sonically superb thanks to mastering guru Ernie O and the album artwork is terrific. This is the complete rock ‘n’ roll package and one of THE Australian albums of 2025. Check it here.
2. Anne McCue & The Cubists – "Wholly Roller Coaster"
Once championed by the likes of Lucinda Williams and Nancy Wilson, Nashville based Australian singer/songwriter/guitarist Anne McCue has released several great albums of inspired blues-oriented roots rock over recent years, but in 2025 she has gone one better with the release of "Wholly Roller Coaster". This is an album of stunning psych pop with a nod to "Sgt Peppers..." and swirling surrealism that stands as of the best releases of the year for mine. An amalgam of kaleidoscopic pop and lyrical themes that focus on the wonder of life, this is one you need to hear. It’s out on vinyl too. Check it here.
3. Smoked Salmon – "Smoked Salmon"
I can’t recall if this was released late last year or early 2025, yet Kim Salmon did a run of shows in March this year to support the album’s release and live, particularly with Claire Birchall doing a lot of the lifting, it was another musical high point for the year. "Hey Hey Narcissus", "Hell In A Handbasket" and the killer "How Did They Ever Manage" are just three highpoints from an outstanding album, with the enigmatic Kim Salmon again coming up with the goods. Check it here.
4. Peter Simpson – "Good Times Gone Bad"
A conventional mainstream music profile counts for a lot. It means you can release an album and an established fanbase will both hear and or purchase it. Media marketing also creates awareness and means it may reach new ears and sales. Despite a rock pedigree extending back some four decades, (including the Dubrovniks), Sydney based singer-songwriter Peter Simpson is neither a household name or part of the mainstream. In 2025, he did however, release an album of stellar garage rock that should, in a just world, elevate his musical profile to that aforementioned mainstream status – it’s that good. Littered with strong hooks and catchy melodies, this is one of THE Oz releases of 2025 and one you need to hear. Check it here.
5. The Naked Lunch – "Wish You Well"
The Naked Lunch released a stupendous album of supreme power pop in 2023 called "Real Gone". They have a new six track CD out called 'Wish You Well' that goes one better. A ton of hooks, pop sensibilities and killer riffs. This is their third release since 2020 and if you haven't yet got on board - you need to! With a lineup whose pedigree includes Steve Beves (Melting Skyscrapers), Tony 'The Kid’ Roberston of The Hitmen/New Christs/Hitmen DTK, Tony Jukic of Hitmen DTK and Murray Shephard of the Screaming Tribesmen, Fun Things and Hitmen DTK – you know there is musical muscle behind the material – and what great material it is. "Wishing Well" and "Sammy’s Made My Day" are just two of my faves, yet the entire six tracks are killer. Check it here.
6. Pilots Of Baalbek + The Undermines, Dissent Bar, Canberra 12 July 2025
A night of incendiary Rock Action on a freezing Canberra winter night from the two best bands in the nation’s capital. Pilots of Baalbek have two great albums out and a style that fuses retro vibes with modern power resulting in a sound that is quite their own. Their last album, "By The Seat Of Our Pants", is essential, and its on LP as well. The Undermines slayed all with their legitimate stamp of high energy rock that draws from the Motor City to the New Christs and then some. They released a four-track EP this year called "Holy Fool" and its essential. Check out the Pilots here, and the Undermines here.
7. Hollywood Brats – "Hung Like Stallions"
There have been some notable rock ‘n’ rollers important to me pass on this year - including David Johansen, Rick Derringer, Honest John Plain of The Boys and Andrew Mattheson of the Hollywood Brats. Although the Brats only released the one album before splintering off to The Boys and London SS in the mid-'70s, both that album and legit-star frontman Andrew Matthewson laid the blueprint that so many would follow. There's a cool label out of Norway called Big Dipper Records doing their best to reissue and release new material from some of Norway’s best – and this year they released an album of previously unreleased material by the Hollywood Brats called "Hung Like Stallions" and it has all the swagger and raunch ‘n’ roll that defined the Brats. 100% recommended.
8. Ricky Byrd - "NYC Made"
Most well known as guitar-slinger for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts for a decade (until '91), Ricky Byrd released his fourth solo album this year and its his most interesting, most personal album to date. A proud Bronx native raised in Queens and a lifelong Yankees fan, Byrd pays homage to the soundtrack of his youth with this album, with influences from the Raspberries to The Who to The Stones to The Yardbirds and Sam Cooke. It’s a rock-solid album with plenty of memorable and catchy tunes, including ‘Transistor Radio Childhood’, and the Mott The Hoople-like ‘Glamdemic’ Blues’. Great record this one! Check it here
9. Richard Davies and the Dissidents - "High Times & Misdemeanours"
The sophomore album from Richard Davies is stunning. He is one of a handful or UK artists I consider essential listening. Slyder Smith is another, so too the incredible Marc Valentine if you dig contemporary power pop done right with a nod to the past. Both these guys have new singles out that are worth checking out. Anyway, Davies cut his teeth with underrated London alt-country/ Americana outfit The Snakes and released his debut album in 2020. His new album betters it, and channels Southside Johnny & The Ashbury Jukes, Tom Petty and Ian Hunter to great effect. He is one hell of a singer-songwriter with High Times & Misdemeanours one hell of an album. The powerful cover of Divinyls' "Human On The Inside" reason enough alone to check it out.
10. Tyla J. Pallas - Gilding the Lily
The brand-new album from Tyla (the Dogs D'amour) was released in in 2025 and it’s a monster, with 18 tracks and a range of styles – from pirate ballads to romantic hobo tunes to gritty and raw blooze numbers characterised by whiskey-soaked vocals and a ton of heart – there’s a legitimacy and originality to Tyla that makes him unique. He is still a cult fave in the UK, yet hopefully (optimistically even) Gilding The Lily may see him tour beyond Blighty and out to this old colony one day. We live in hope! Check it here.
