Best New Music: October 2025

A ranking and review of the best new releases from Korean, Japanese, and Chinese artists!

View the Substack version of this piece here!

#20: Hearts2Hearts, FOCUS
While FOCUS plays some familiar tunes, its videos make Hearts2Hearts stand out. The premise is neither entirely meta nor the opposite, and point-of-view changes are a plot line of their own. The teaser videos vary in who they address and how. “Chapter 1. How2getHearts” addresses “you,” and the rules for “getting hearts” appear in an instructional book. “Chapter 2. Hard2Hide” has more of a third-person than a second-person voice, showing the members sitting with and texting each other. The main era trailer alternates between synchronicity and separate behavior, between the main character being a specific member and being Hearts2Hearts as a collective. The members copy each other’s movements at times when together and at times when apart, and they repeatedly sit at cubicle-like, individual desks with walls on the sides. They are together, their desks lined up in a row and their outfits identical, but they also protect a sense of personal privacy.

Being on the same wavelength with others and being one’s own person are not mutually exclusive, and the “FOCUS” music video reinforces that. It also shows how individualized one’s perceptions of the same events can be. A textbook that appears normal to one person looks to another like its text floats off the page. What looks like a dance routine to some looks like a choreographed fight to others. What appears to be a "normal day” for non-Hearts2Hearts members is anything but for the dancing group in the back of the classroom! Additional perception alterations come from the many scene transitions: locker doors rapidly opening and closing, images altered through mirrors, scene transitions via bursts of magic… Whether Hearts2Hearts is one main character in a scene or eight different characters, the point is that what role the audience plays stays puzzling.

#19: ID:Earth, “UTOPIA”
Music critics ought to stay reluctant to praise any work that involves AI; there is so much entirely human music out there that stays true to what art is all about: the feelings and experiences no AI will ever have! That being said, an exception will be made here for “UTOPIA,” because it only involved AI in its final video editing stages, and because it addresses worthwhile questions about how analog versus computer-generated humans’ ideal futures actually are. ID:Earth not only created her own storyboards for the “UTOPIA” music video, but she directed it and brought her ideas to life in thought-provoking ways related to the grounded premise of an ongoing search for a place to call home.

In order to understand what they desire most, humans need to resort to some primal instincts, hence the transitions from human to animal close-ups that take place with literal blinks of eyes. Humans also need to take a hard look at themselves, hence the protagonist riding a hot-air balloon with a reflective, mirror-like surface. Humans have to prepare for how to stop their utopia from being lost like Atlantis, hence the cityscape replacing enormous waves. Humans have to consider what their ideal age is, hence the treatment center that turns the elderly back into newborns (although some choose to stay elderly and keep a dusting of gold on their faces; some view aging as a privilege). Creating a utopia requires humans to learn from the past while venturing into the unknown ideas-wise, hence why the protagonist consults ancient text while others look dressed for a revolution. The final engrossing scene involves an all-white space that morphs from being snow-filled to being pure blankness. The hot-air balloon abruptly turns into an hourglass, moving viewers on to the next question: “Now that we know what our utopia could look like, for how long could we keep it?”

As great as it would be if artists entirely refrained from using AI, if they must, ID:Earth gives the best example of how to do it. She keeps the integrity of her creative vision intact and uses AI to make a greater point, a point that is both timely and timeless, about the trade-offs people are willing to make. As for the song itself, “UTOPIA” is as ominous as it is oasis-appropriate. It is multilingual in more than the usual ways for ID:Earth, with lyrics that can be read in reverse and the use of ancient tongues, creating a rich and haunting musical memory.

#18: Lulu, aka Lulu Huang Lu Zi Yin, Sunny Park
This light and pleasant EP is the musical equivalent of clouds! Lulu merrily sings about both daydreams and dreams come true, accompanied by strings and accentuated with a sing-song delivery in “Bubbles;” reinforced with additional instrumental and vocal layers in “Sunny Life, Chill Vibe;” backed by an acoustic guitar in “Ordinary Rice Ball;” backed by piano in “Mr. Cute;” mixed with rock-ballad ingredients turned into something else entirely in “The Friend of My Seesaw Days;” and summarized in “Dreams” with extra whimsical sound effects and “lalala”s! The songs hum with happiness, as does the “Bubbles” music video. Viewers follow Lulu as she explores a gorgeous tourist attraction: Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch-themed amusement park in Japan that has flower fields and a three-story carousel. The video is more than just pretty sights, though. After looking miserable post-FaceTime, presumably homesick, Lulu finds and uses what resembles a bottle of pills, but it turns out to be bubbles and a bubble wand! The bubbles quickly cheer her up, and she sings about treating her dreams like those bubbles: beautiful and fun, yet fragile and in need of constant replenishment.

For those with less naturally sunny dispositions, Lulu hopefully gets through to them too, by pairing signs of work and play together, making her sightseeing seem more practical. For example, she plays a hotel waitress and is still in her uniform when watching a fireworks display. She knows the time will never be perfect for taking a vacation - physically or mentally - so she commits to treating each day like one and realizes that is easier to do than one might assume! It can become second nature to find whimsy and wonder all around someone; a vacation is a state of mind!

#17: ANGIE, Caramel Eyes
Caramel Eyes tells a straightforward story, despite the tracklist not being chronological. Pre-released singles and new songs alike follow ANGIE’s evolution from describing what she loves and loathes in relationships to deciding she might just be better off single! She tends to keep things low-to-mid-tempo, often sings in an ASMR-friendly fashion, and goes from sultry to sentimental and back again with smoothness and softness. The dreamy and hazy qualities to her sound are bookended by “Intro: Huh?” and “Outro: One Day.” The intro features wind and echoing voices, and the outro is sonically compatible yet a counter to the intro’s listlessness. As cohesive as Caramel Eyes is, though, the best parts are the most sassy and energetic interruptions: “CRYCRYCRY” and “The way U hate it”!

#16: ONEWE, MAZE : AD ASTRA 
MAZE : AD ASTRA is very much a sequel to ONEWE’s prior albums, but it communicates its convictions in new-for-ONEWE ways. Whether singing a brassy and funky jam like “MAZE,” playing around with reverb in “UFO,” pairing ballad-ready voices with a faster-than-expected tempo in “Lucky 12” and “Trace,” or raising and lowering the volume throughout the tale of turbulence that is “Beyond the Storm,” they find many ways to communicate. Zooming out more, the album gets its points across effectively by making a routine out of rising action; it stays hopeful-sounding and anticipatory until the end. What the action rises towards stays ambiguous on purpose, as they describe memories and presences as fading, fleeting, and slipping away. This is not new for ONEWE, nor is celestial lyricism, but what is new is how they apply those terms. Exhibit A is the “MAZE” music video, which changes from ONEWE’s “finding messages in the stars and sky” theme to “finding messages in the ground”! ONEWE use their instruments as a medium and a message, using them like metal detectors and UFO-summoning devices! Shapes mowed into the grass change as ONEWE play on, and those imprints fill up with colors. 

ONEWE find a new constellation of conveyors for connection, and the main takeaway is summarized well in the song “UFO”: “The sincerity that once reached you / It might not stay the same as time goes by / But it’ll take on new forms.” 

#15: Daiki Ueno, Kawaritai
The sounds in Kawaritai change, but the message does not, as Daiki Ueno sings self-written thank-yous to life’s mysteries and surprises. In “Yoake o zutto matteru,” classic and abnormal instrumental choices combine, the latter including camera clicks, beeps, and sounds akin to squeaky and wind-up toys! His bold and broad assertion: “I’m looking for a change that will change my life,” and he sings about throwing out every guide to life he has memorized. If he wants to feel like life is truly improved, he has to try something new and different, which he does both musically and otherwise. In “dodo,” he recognizes his “now or never” moment: “Our senses are dull, now is our chance,” and he takes that “chance” to toss random bonus sounds into the song as it unfolds! 

In the quiet “Sepia,” he notes that “The cityscape is changing,” too. He finds his new groove in the snap-along-ready, low-tempo “Shiawase.” By this point in his emotional journey, he is more eager to turn the page (“I can’t stay in the same frame forever”) and finds more value in what evolves than what stays put (the seasons are described as holding him back; he has been “dragging the premonition of spring” with him). In “Aozora,” brief but key spaces between lines create contemplative context as he realizes, “you changed me” (emphases added). Lastly, in the title track, instruments from the previous songs come together for an energetic finale, in which he exclaims, “See you in the future!”

When listening to the tracks in order, listeners hear a theme song for each step in the process of change. Daiki Ueno sets out to embrace it (“Yoake o zutto matteru”), determines the right time to do so (“dodo”), watches his environment change as he internally does (“Sepia” and “Shiawase”), watches the ripple effect of people around him changing (“Aozora”), and animatedly prepares for his next chance to change (“Kawaritai”).

#14: TXT, Starkissed
Not all good stories need an epilogue, but the best epilogues make it seem like they do! Starkissed is that kind of unofficial epilogue; it is a valuable reweaving of TXT’s stylistic and thematic threads, putting sentiments rooted in faith and friendship in new yet familiar contexts. Next to older Japanese songs and new Japanese versions of older Korean songs are brand-new songs with the same instincts: to characterize communication between loved ones as code (“SSS (Sending Secret Signals)”), to put importance on “calling out your name” (“Can’t Stop”), and to contrast social media’s careful curation with the carefree life they hope their loved ones pursue (“Where Do You Go?”). The music videos also cover those trademark topics. From animated characters showing the members are strongest when together (they go from riding different paper airplanes to all riding on the same one in “Kitto Zutto”), to a different character following the TXT members’ advice in a live-action format (“Where Do You Go?”), to the TXT members themselves acting out their own passions and emotions (“Can’t Stop” and “We’ll Never Change”), all roads lead to the same places. 

The perfect starting and finish lines of TXT’s personalized paths to a tomorrow of togetherness: “Intro : SPARK” and “Outro : GLOW.” The latter takes the sense of optimism in “Intro : SPARK” to another level, signaling “Mission accomplished.” Triumph takes a quieter, yet more moving, form in the animated “Of the Starkissed” video. It is narrated like a children’s picture book and set to a music box version of “Song of the Stars,” one of the most quintessential TXT songs to date.

#13: BAND-MAID, SCOOOOOP
With their typical vibrancy and vigor, BAND-MAID deliver rousing rock songs about dreaming big. They manifest being a “rockin’ sensation” (in “Ready to Rock”), stop caring about defining certain concepts “the right ways” (admitting to having “no idea” in “What is justice?”), validate their goals (“We’ll never let the dream end,” they assert in “Present Perfect”), and decide there should be “No looking back” (in “SUPER SUNSHINE”). Beyond singing words of encouragement, they sing about turning those words into clear action plans. They use dual definitions of “arts and crafts” in “Present Perfect,” talking about celebrating the craft that is music while advising, “Keep drawing your own path.” They end with “Zen” and a reinforcement: “I am drawing new lines into the void… Defying fatalism with a pencil.” “Zen” is the final track with lyrics, but the actual final track is the instrumental "Lock and Load.” This comes across as a continuation of “Zen,” prolonging BAND-MAID’s sense of earned contentment. They know they can do anything they set their minds to and show their belief that they can keep people’s attention as long as they’re making noise!

#12: Lexie Liu, TEENAGE RAMBLE
Lexie treats hyper-pop as an expansive playground, pairs nonchalance with a nagging sense that she actually does care, and sees flippancy as fertile ground for playing tricks on audiences. She revels in getting people to search for meaning where there is none, like when she coins a potential figure of speech in “TEENAGE RAMBLE”: “I got laundry in my basement”! She also enjoys leaving audiences in the dark as to how much of her persona is genuine and how much can be chalked up to melodrama or irony. She groans about feeling so embarrassed that it makes her want to “kill someone” in “ADRENALINE,” and she insists she’s ready to quit her job entirely over a stressful deadline in “TEENAGE RAMBLE”! The answer to “Is she for real?” seems less likely to be “Yes” when considering her most macabre moments. “FFFFF” pairs a song about lustful cravings with a vampiric music video, and “DEEPER & DEEPER” is a sensual song about an underground tryst that sounds like a choir performing at a haunted rave! Her “just messing with you” mannerism is most apparent on the last song, “CIGARETTE - DEMO.” The outro includes this telling statement: “I feel like I’m disappearing… keep talking like someone’s listening / But trust me, it’ll pass / It’s all just in our heads, right?” It’s as much a meta take on pop stardom as it is a nonsensical comment, and that mix of joking and not is what keeps Lexie Liu’s music so interesting. 

#11: Sakurazaka46, Unhappy birthday Koubun (Special Edition)
Sakurazaka46 simultaneously give up and go through the motions, and they wouldn’t do the latter if they felt absolutely dedicated to the former. The part of them that stays determined to try and make something out of their lives is depicted in the songs’ corresponding music videos. In “Unhappy birthday Koubun,” they would not “blow out the candles of a template cake” and be curious what presents they have received in “excessive wrapping” if a part of them did not enjoy celebrating their birthdays! They complain about the pomp and circumstance while still engaging in it, eagerly eating a birthday cake despite its frosted frowning face, applauding one member’s dance routine despite it being the kind of staged behavior they detest, and spending time in a casket that keeps the lid off for an easy exit - a lid that resembles a gift box’s!

As much as they wonder if they can survive the “cruel game” that is life, they don’t want to turn that wavering into surrender. They complain in the title track that they did not choose to be born (“I wasn’t born by choice, it was my parents’ situation… For what sins was I brought into a world like this?”), but they might as well make the most of the mess! They do so again in “Kogarashi wa nakani.” The video starts with a close-up of a blue butterfly and ends with a member lying on the ground while partially covered in flowers. The members try to spread their wings and fly while staying “blue” and pessimistic, and the change to flower symbolism brings to mind a burial plot as much as it does blossoming anew!

The other main single, “Alter ego,” explains how Sakurazaka46 makes sense of their simultaneous “Live it up!” and “Kill me now!” thoughts! They realize they have multitudes and frame those as alter egos they get a kick out of employing whenever staying themselves feels unbearable!

As for the B-sides, they move on to the “making peace with one’s multitudes" phase of understanding them. They still have complaints about growing-up's disorienting nature, but they also still refuse to let that disorientation swallow or shrink them. “I won’t give up even if it rains,” they pledge in “Aozora ga mierumade.” They admit they “can’t stop now” and “can’t go now” in “I will be.” They sing, “I don’t know the name of the star” in “Yozora de ichiban kagayaiteru hoshi no namae wo boku wa shiranai,” yet they still enjoy staring at it. And they assert in “Buddies (English Version),” “If you’re with me, we’re gonna make it through.” Lyrics towards the end of that song sum it all up: “Desperation, we are gonna throw it away with tears”!

Find out and read about the Top Ten later this week!