“Exactly the kind of thing the Instagram algorithm won’t be injecting into your eyeballs every time you log on”: February 2025 Guitar World Editors’ Picks

(Image credit: Matthew Baker/Getty Images)

The day is finally here. After an absurdly hectic few months either side of the festive period, we are thrilled to report that we are well and truly back. With no more Black Friday, Christmas or NAMM shenanigans getting in the way of our traditional new music scouting activities, we have returned in full force with a good ol’ fashioned edition of Editors’ Picks, write-ups n’ all.

It’s a good thing, too. There’s been plenty of notable new music releases over the past four weeks or so, and not only have we conveniently dropped them all in our purpose-built Spotify playlist (embedded below), but we’ve also put some standout singles under the spotlight and waxed lyrical about the tones, playing and songwriting that have set our six-string senses a-tingling.

Expect everything from world-conquering indie rock, ultra-intricate progressive fingerstyle and Mastodon-esque stoner/groove metal, all the way to hard-riffing blues, filthy funk and beyond. It sure is good to be back.

Michael Astley-Brown – Editor-in-Chief

Buddy Guy & Switchfoot – Last Man Standing (Official Audio) – YouTube

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While it may not be quite as mind-bending as David Gilmour’s guest spot with Body Count last year, Buddy Guy cropping up on a tune from post-grunge mainstays Switchfoot is sure to rank pretty high on our list of 2025’s Most Unlikely Guitar Collaborations. But Jon Foreman and co play to Guy’s strengths on Last Man Standing, with a foot-stomping, hard-driving riff punctuated by the blues icon’s stinging leads, still potent at 88 years young.

Also on a modern blues tip, I’m digging the latest single from the rapidly rising Jack Moore, son of guitar legend Gary Moore. His collaborative effort with vocalist Quentin Kovalsky has a breezy swagger to its wistful chord progression, but dear lord, that solo is fiery enough to sear flesh. He’s got his father’s vibrato, alright. Rockstar offspring are seemingly everywhere these days, but there’s more than just a surname here.

Two-Headed Trout / The Demon of Unreality Limping Like A Dog (Official Music Video) – YouTube

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On the heavier side of my split guitar personality, I’ve been impressed by the latest offering from the Callous Daoboys, which combines savage metalcore noise riffs with the kind of progressive post-hardcore perpetrated by Dance Gavin Dance. The song is called Two-Headed Trout. And – I promise I did not plan this segue in advance – you know what kind of animal eats trout? Pelican. And the instrumental riff merchants by the same name have debuted Cascading Crescent, the first track from their first album in six years, which features the return of founding guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec after over a decade away. It’s stoner, it’s groove metal, it’s Mastodon-esque chug, and it’s all impeccably delivered. Many may imitate the Chicagoans’ riff-forward approach, but none can match Pelican for sheer right-hand power.

Lastly, I’d like to give a shoutout to London funkateer and Fender Next Class of 2024 grad Maya Delilah for dropping the downright filthiest single of the year so far. Squeeze may be driven by its outrageously smooth bassline, but when the guitar drops, Delilah strips everything else back to bust out a wiry fuzz tone that evokes St. Vincent and Prince, with harmonics and pick slides as exclamation points. It’s playful, filled with personality and exactly the kind of thing the Instagram algorithm won’t be injecting into your eyeballs every time you log on. And it’s all the better for it.

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Jackson Maxwell – Associate Editor

Superheaven – “Cruel Times” [Official Video] – YouTube

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As the sheer length of our playlist this month can attest, it feels like a day hasn’t gone by this month where something really good hasn’t hit my inbox – and the highlights have come from every conceivable musical direction.

First, I’d like to point to Superheaven, a grunge-informed alt-rock combo set to release their first full album in a decade in April. And what a strange trajectory they’ve had.

The band had only been intermittently active in recent years until Youngest Daughter, a hazy 2013 track with a slow-motion hammer of a riff, went mega-viral on TikTok. In an incredibly short time came over 100 million Spotify streams and many thousands of new converts. And yes, Cruel Times – the latest single from that forthcoming, self-titled album – will likely have you digging in your closets for that flannel you’ve had for… god, how long? But cataloging Superheaven as mere grunge revivalists would be a mistake.

There’s something for everyone – palm-muted chug, a whirry solo for your inner air guitarist, another monster riff, of course… But as everyone says, it’s all about the songs, and Cruel Times’ chorus is a winner that’s sure to bring plenty more converts to the fold.

We’re not new to the Tash Sultana bandwagon by any means, but their new single, Milk & Honey, is a ridiculous show of six-string versatility. Want some reggae? Peep those terse upstrokes. Slinky, Khruangbin-esque funk-by-way-of-surf leads? Plenty of those. Just here for a center-stage, story-telling solo? Sultana’s got one of those on tap, too – a true masterclass of immaculate phrasing and build-up.

Moving to punk, we have the always-amazing Laura Jane Grace. Grace’s earworm of a riff on Against Me!’s True Trans Soul Rebel was one of my favorites of the 2010s, and the one that leads (after a choir, naturally) into her new single, Your God (God’s Dick), is just as irrepressible.

Other highlights for me this month came in the form of Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo (TajMo)’s Room on the Porch, a sweet, melodic acoustic blues showcase that also doubles as the sonic equivalent of a warm hug, Takuro Okada’s sublime guitar instrumental, The Room, and another stunning avant-jazz showcase from Wilco’s Nels Cline, Slipping Into Something.

Matt Owen – Senior Staff Writer

Sam Fender – Little Bit Closer (Official Lyric Video) – YouTube

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Well, what a busy few months it’s been. I may have been pre-occupied with Black Friday in November, last-minute Christmas shopping in December, and my first-ever NAMM show last month – but that doesn’t mean I’ve neglected any of 2025’s early music releases.

And so, I am absolutely champing at the bit to finally write about February’s drops – particularly Sam Fender’s new album, which obliterated my (quite lofty) expectations. The biggest act in alternative and indie rock right now, Fender is seemingly immune to writing a bad song – and People Watching is full of belters. Little Bit Closer is a highlight, pairing Fender’s jangly six-string pads with a grizzly-yet-anthemic drop tuned riff – and a screeching solo chucked in for good measure – that clearly shows his passion for letting rip on the guitar. An album full of riffs next please, Mr. Fender.

Holding My Breath (Live) – YouTube

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Speaking of letting rip on the guitar, Chris Buck’s Cardinal Black finally dropped a live cut of Holding My Breath on streaming. Few modern players possess the sheer dynamic control and melodic sensibility that the Revstar-toting blues rock ace does, and almost every facet of his irresistible playing is put in the spotlight here: rhythmic single-note stabs that serve the song, decorative interludes that weave between the lyrics, and a ripping solo that I’m definitely going to try (and fail) to learn.

Something I probably won’t even bother trying to learn (because it would be a futile endeavor) is VOID – the latest progressive nylon-string masterclass from percussive fingerstyle virtuoso Ichika Nito. If the first 10 seconds alone don’t blow your mind… well, you’re made of stronger stuff than I. I needed to have a lie-down after my first listen.

Honorable mentions must also go to Delete Ya by Djo – AKA Joe Keery of Stranger Things fame – who is shaping up to release what could be his finest body of musical work to date, and Forever In Our Hearts by Paul Gilbert’s Mr. Big – who will be wrapping up their 35-year career in a few months.

Janelle Borg – Staff Writer

Bon Iver – Everything Is Peaceful Love (Official Video) – YouTube

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Fresh from a Robert Stillman and Tom Skinner gig that I had the pleasure of witnessing yesterday – and a couple of weeks spent flirting with a wide array of guitars at the studio – it’s safe to say that it has been a month of contrasts when it comes to my music taste: from giving Sabrina Carpenter’s absolute earworm Espresso a chance after a friend’s coaxing (I can confirm that it is indeed an earworm), to (digitally) crate-digging and trying to find the most obscure or (at least) sonically interesting tracks that February has to offer. While I’m going to spare you from Espresso, I did manage to find some hidden gems among the flurry of new tracks that landed in my inbox and playlists…

I feel like I properly discovered Bon Iver this month – and his very serene (and aptly titled) Everything is Peaceful Love almost feels like a well-needed embrace from a long-lost friend. With heartfelt lyrics, pedal steel guitar parts that fit cozily alongside warm electronic pads, and a neo-soul sensibility to the harmony-rich vocals – it’s the perfect song to add a hint of joy to these long and dreary winter days.

Speaking of falling back in love with the artists that soundtracked my teenage years – Darkside make their return with Nothing, and (to my delight), it’s as experimental as ever. I first discovered Darkside through their track Paper Trails (and spent hours trying to emulate the reverb-soaked guitar that characterizes the latter part of that track). Heavy is Good For This immediately captured my attention – and, in true Darkside fashion, the guitars weave in and out almost like a narrative tool that supports the haunted rhythms, distorted vocals, and eerie aura that the track – and by extension, the album – successfully conjures.

Colombian avant-Latin experimentalists Los Pirañas join the ranks of instrumental-driven, psych-leaning music that’s gaining momentum even on a more mainstream level – perhaps best seen in Khrunagbin’s Best New Artist Grammy nomination. Los Pirañas’ songs, however, are less carefully curated, and more spontaneous and daring in nature, as exemplified by their latest release Despectiva caridad – all while drawing inspiration from, but putting their own off-center stamp on, Latin American music styles.

And to finish off – an album that I just discovered today and that immediately captured my attention is Piers Faccini and Ballaké Sissoko’s Our Calling – a virtuosic and, frankly, mesmerizing interplay between guitar and kora [the West African stringed instrument], as shown in the desert blues-steeped Mournful Moon, included in this playlist. With all its layers and nuanced meaning, I can confidently say this is an album I will be revisiting over and over again.

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master’s degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade’s experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O’Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you’ll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.

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