Albums of the Year 2025: #28

Annahstasia's proximity to love — for and from others, in society at large, and deeply within herself — guides the spirit of her soulful, poetic folk songcraft. It is the elemental constant, alongside her distinctly resonant voice, shading the singer-songwriter’s music since her earliest self-taught recordings, back when a 17-year-old Annahstasia Enuke was discovered and propelled into the pressures of an industry that nearly stifled her greatest strengths.

Her album Tether, where she explores themes of disappointment and heartbreak, self-searching and discovery, power and grace, and most elementally — the spectrum of love. Annahstasia has carried these songs with her on the road, sung them for friends and strangers, and evolved them over time alongside her personal revelations. The music sustains a gravity and clarity across its delicate use of instrumentation. Through saccharine horn and string arrangements, Annahstasia's voice rings true, open-hearted, and free.