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Editor's Picks, Review

Our 10 favourite protest music albums of 2025

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A person with a guitar looks at a map while standing at a crossroads with signs for 2025, engulfed in flames, and 2026, adorned with flowers.

What an awful year. A genocide continued to unfold in Gaza, over 20 million people are in desperate need of food and medical aid in the DRC, and the war in Sudan, now in its third year, is showing the rest of the world how truly horrific the human species can be – with systematic rape used as a weapon of war and over half a million people on the brink of starvation.

As the rest of the world watches these horrors unfold, the powerful don’t take even the slightest break. While breaking international rule of law, the president of the USA started the year off with a literal bang by doing what that government does best: dropping bombs and kidnapping a head of state. With no rest for the wicked, Trump then threatened to colonise Greenland. And in Iran, two weeks into 2026, thousands of people have been killed, largely by authorities, after protests erupted in the country in December.

The year is off to a rough start.

However, we can’t give up, and we can’t give in. While global media often focuses on the negative, we can’t forget that there are so many people dedicating every ounce of their being to protecting our environment, helping people in need, fighting poachers, reporting the truth under a rain of bombs – the list goes on.

Governments around the world are threatening artists with long, harsh prison sentences – yet they continue to sing; corporations are pressing criminal charges against people for rescuing animals from being murdered – yet they continue to save animals; people are being oppressed for their sexual orientation, colour of their skin, or religious beliefs – yet they continue to march in protest.

From Bulgaria to Nepal to Morocco, young people stood up to old powers and demanded immediate action – calling for better healthcare, more funding towards education, an end to corruption and impunity, and real environmental action.

And a whole bunch of kind and brave people defiantly sailed to Gaza, with aid.

We should all do what we can. Everything matters, and a thousand small actions amount to a big ball of kindness. In 2025, artists did what they do best: they analysed what was unfolding in front of their empathetic eyes, and they created music. Music that brings awareness, music that fights fascism, music that unifies.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it. Protest music never died. There is a plethora of protest musicians out there and plenty of independent media covering their work. And for further proof, check out our recently published list of top 40 protest songs of 2025 (a list DJ General Strike narrowed down from over 1,000 songs) and our Selected Protest Music of 2025 Playlist, which holds over 7 hours worth of revolutionary music.

We must stand in solidarity with everyone who is oppressed – whether that be our fellow humans, the animals, or Mother Earth herself. And we’ve got the music to go along with the resistance.

Below are ten examples, a few favourite albums of the friends and collaborators of Shouts.

This is music from the rooftops.

Contributing to this list were Salma Ahmed, Kevin Gosztola, Santiago Campodónico, Mat Ward, and Riley Rowe.

Armageddon In A Summer Dress by Sunny War

Sunny War’s Armageddon in a Summer Dress is one of the beautiful tapestries that were woven this year. War’s album captured many genres through its songs, and these genres were accompanied by diverse stories narrated in every song. She gives you hope and then takes it away, only to give it back again. Her songs about loneliness and poverty feel fitting for the times one finds themselves in. The same can be found in the songs that tried to fight against fascism and the corruption suffocating America. 

Armageddon in a Summer Dress is the kind of album that stays with you even if months have passed since you first listened to it. You might catch yourself singing “Bad times, stay away” without realising it. And when everything gets dark in the world around you, you start hoping that War’s words, when she sings “But you did it once before / I know you’ll do it once more,” will come true. Even if nothing changed, War’s masterpiece would be the speck of hope convincing you that it is never too late.

Words by Salma Ahmed, contributing writer for Shouts – Music from the Rooftops! Read her full review of the album here, and more of Salma’s articles can be found here.

Andrija Tokic did such a fabulous job producing, engineering, and mixing this record. It’s full-sounding, and without losing any edge, there’s an effervescence to Sunny War’s music as she provides a working-class soundtrack for late-stage capitalism. Standout track is “Walking Contradiction,” a collaboration with Crass co-founder Steve Ignorant. 

Words by Kevin Gosztola, journalist, writer, and curator of The Protest Music Project

viagr aboys by Viagra Boys

The Viagra Boys’ newest album, viagr aboys, is an ironic, beautifully arranged, hilariously self-aware, crude, and profound meditation on contemporary life. Its power as a protest album lies in the band’s ability to point at the inherent absurdity and injustice of the systems that underpin everyday life, and either mock them, portray their consequences, or lament their effects. 

Everything from the quick solutions often sold for coping with eating habits (with songs like Pyramid of Heath), to the unfocused and radical subgroups the precarious job market has created (Dirty Boyz), this album has something to say. Moreover, it says it concisely, backed by one of the most focused punk recordings of the decade. viagr aboys, like all great records, enters through the ears but sticks in the brain for what lies underneath the layers.

Words by Santiago Campodónico, contributing writer for Shouts – Music from the Rooftops! More of Santiago’s articles can be found here.

Ül by Mawiza

Since its British birth, metal music has been shaped, led, and seen as an art form of and for European and American crowds. And while artists from Brazil, Japan, or other cultural hubs have broken through the international veil, it’s often seen as a boundary-breaking statement to make metal music if you’re outside the norm of the aforementioned demographic. For example, Mawiza is a metal group based in the Mapuche Nation territory in Chile. They use their indigenous roots and musicalities to make very distinct and powerful music, chanting in their Mapuzungun dialect and riffing in earthy rhythms. With a guest feature by Gojira and praise from the likes of Slipknot to Mastodon, Ül by Mawiza is a stunning example of a protest album, not only for bringing awareness and legitimacy to metal music made by indigenous people, but also for the anti-logging and decolonization messages in certain songs. If your interest is piqued by folk-groove metal like The Hu or Sepultura, enjoy this album, mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, Chelsea Wolfe).

Words by Riley Rowe, founder of Metal Has No Borders

Black Spring by Samora Pinderhughes

Samora Pinderhughes is a US composer, pianist, vocalist, and multidisciplinary artist who, in collaboration with The Healing Project, a community-engaged arts initiative he leads, released a very special mixtape this year. Black Spring honours the 100 years since the birth of writer and activist James Baldwin, connecting Baldwin’s legacy to contemporary struggles. The work blends poetic piano, electronics, and neo-soul, bringing together musicians, vocalists, and poets from his New York community to create a collective artistic voice.

Words by Halldór Kristínarson, managing editor of Shouts – Music from the Rooftops!

Social Cohesion by Mudrat

I listen to 30 protest albums a month for the monthly political albums round-up I write at greenleft.org.au. A standout for me this year was Social Cohesion, the debut album from Naarm/Melbourne-based punk-hip hop artist Mudrat, who is creating a real stir with his innovative and uncompromising music. This was solidified by seeing him electrify an audience of activists at Rising Tide, a blockade of the world’s biggest coal port in Muloobinba/Newcastle. Check out his earworm “I Hate Rich Cunts”, which has passed 1 million plays on Spotify alone.

Words by Mat Ward, musician and author

Temple of Hope by Saba Alizadeh

Saba Alizadeh’s Temple of Hope is the kind of album that could be enough to carry an artist’s legacy on its shoulders with no backup. The music composition by the Iranian artist takes you to a different world. One that is filled with hope, dreams, loss, and even death. With the protests recently happening in Iran, Temple of Hope feels like it predicted it ever since it was released. The song To Become a Martyr, One Has to Be Murdered could be played while you are on the edge of your seat, watching a nation rise up. It’s not just Alizadeh’s composition that makes the album one of 2025’s best, but the vocals, carefully chosen and placed in the right songs, are the missing piece of the puzzle. Maybe as the years passed, Iranians will find themselves walking into a new nation that they made become their own temple of hope. 

Words by Salma Ahmed, contributing writer for Shouts – Music from the Rooftops! Read more of Salma’s articles can be found here.

They’re Burning the Boats by Bambu

One of my favourite albums of the year is They’re Burning the Boats, by Filipino-American rapper Bambu. The veteran musician has been in the rap game for a minute – and it shows. There’s a layer of maturity and understanding in his lyrics, something that comes with experience. Bambu is a father, and his hope for a more just world for his daughter shines through on this album. He wants to leave a legacy, and he makes sure he spits the truth in every song he makes or is part of. He gets straight to the point and tears down the fascist forces that are trying to divide us all. He takes hard shots with harder rhymes and makes it look easy. With sometimes carnival-sounding beats from Fatgums and each song holding its own, this is one piece I’ve been spinning again and again this year. It makes me want to go out and fight fascists and also stay at home and hold my daughter – all at once.

Words by Halldór Kristínarson, managing editor of Shouts – Music from the Rooftops!

The Film by SUMAC and Moor Mother

The Film is a visceral jaw-dropping concept album constructed like an original motion picture soundtrack. The pairing of a sludge metal band with a bona fide artist like Moor Mother delivers on all fronts. The compositions pound away at you. Is this what it’s like to decolonize your mind? Standout track is “Scene 1,” but it doesn’t really have songs. Each “scene,” and the few tracks in between, have to be heard together to appreciate this statement of artistic freedom. 

Words by Kevin Gosztola, journalist, writer, and curator of The Protest Music Project

Viribus Unitis by 1914

In the same vein of anti-war films like ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ or ‘Warfare,’ 1914 shines a light on the pain and loss of war to demonstrate an anti-war message through blackened death metal. On the surface, their new album – Viribus Unitis – may appear to glorify the violent battles of WWI, however, the sheer terror and death tolls that are lyrically showcased become a clear warning against continued wars in modern day, and therefore, the perfect protest album, especially considering the band’s Ukrainian origin. Mastered by Tony Lindgren (Enslaved, Leprous), be sure to give this album a listen if you’re into Rotting Christ, Kanonenfieber, or even Type O Negative.

Words by Riley Rowe, founder of Metal Has No Borders

Miss Black America by Kirby

Grit and soul is what you get on Kirby’s new album, Miss Black. After years of working deep inside the music industry, living in New York, the Memphis-born, Mississippi-raised artist went back to her homeland to create her newest work. She describes it as a record “about growing up in Mississippi and understanding how the fight of your ancestors, the love of your family, the blood on the land and the joy of the Sunday choir shaped how you see the world.” And it simply sounds amazing.

Words by Halldór Kristínarson, managing editor of Shouts – Music from the Rooftops!

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Interview, News

Dismissed for singing in solidarity with the Palestinian people: an interview with Amy Blanding

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On the unceded, ancestral territory of the Lheidli T’enneh lives a 41-year-old singer-songwriter. She is queer, she is disabled, she’s a mother and she has a dog with a special name (we’ll get to that later). Her name is Amy Blanding, and until recently she worked as a Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility at the Northern Health Authority (“NHA”) in British Columbia, Canada.

After performing her song, Sunbirds, back in April of 2024, while wearing a t-shirt with a watermelon image on it, some members of her community sent a complaint to her employers urging them to take action against her.

Shortly after, Amy was removed from her potition at the NHA. Instead of letting her oppressors break her, Amy went into the studio to record her song, and with its release she started gathering funds for a pro-peace, non-profit organisation as well as raising awareness about the cause of the Palestinian people and all people suffering from the conflicts and terrors brought onto them by arms manufacturers and warmongering politicians around the world.

In short, Amy is fighting back. And she was kind enough to take the time to tell us her story.

Halldór Kristínarson: Thank you for participating and being open to answering a few questions. First off, for those out there who are not familiar, can you tell us a little bit about your background, and how you got into creating music?

Amy Blanding: I was born in the four corners region of Navajo, Hopi, Ute, and Zuni territory (Colorado, USA) and raised on the red shores of Epekwitk – Mi’kmaq territory (PEI, Canada). I am a white, disabled, queer woman, mother, equity specialist, and musician. I grew up singing in choirs, playing trumpet in band, and exposed to music through my parents. Music was always a part of my life, but it didn‘t become something I pursued professionally until I moved to Lheidli T‘enneh/Prince George (in British Columbia, Canada) where I now live. I co-founded a band called Black Spruce Bog and got my first exposure to touring, recording, playing shows, and eventually writing my own music and singing lead. When that band broke up, I set out on my own to continue evolving my sound and my voice. So in music industry terms, I‘m late to the game (I‘m 41 years old now). But I love it, I feel like my music holds a depth of experience and context that could only have been curated over time.

HK: Has your music always been conscious, or political? Some people say that music and activism should be separated, others believe the two are inseperable as the ought to be. What is your take on this? I can only imagine you have slightly more direct, very impactful take on this theme in light of recently being fired from your job due to you performing a song in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

AB: I write music about what I see around me, what I witness, and what I feel utterly compelled to speak out about. My music is personal and absolutely political – it has always addressed the world that I live in and the stories of the people I meet. I do see art and activism as being inextricably linked. The post racial reckoning, pandemic year of 2020 was a turning point for my music though. I gave birth to my son and I had to decide what my legacy was going to be with this platform my privilege had afforded me. If I was going to take up space in the music world, I knew I had to use it as a catalyst to move us closer to collective liberation. I owe that to my son.

HK: Can you also tell us a bit more about how that happened, the termination of your work because of a song/performance? The job you had sounds very inclusive and justice-minded, can you explain how such a workplace would fire someone for simply singing a song in solidarity with oppressed people? For an outsider looking in, it sounds baffling.

AB: As an insider looking in, it‘s still baffling! Last April I played a song I wrote called Sunbirds at a community concert – the song is about the genocide in Palestine. I also wore a watermelon shirt from wearthepeace.com at the concert‘s dress rehearsal. A group of local Zionists wrote a defamatory and factually incorrect letter to my employer claiming that my actions were Anti-Semitic, Pro-Hamas, jihadist, bigoted, etc. This letter was taken at face-value with no due process or inquiry, and I was removed from my role as Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility at the Northern Health Authority. This amounts to defamation, a wrongful dismissal, and a violation of my right to freedom of expression in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I have filed two lawsuits, against my former employer and the community members, and we will likely be going to trial in early 2026. You can watch the press conference here.

HK: After being fired for singing your song, you didn‘t let that break you, but instead you pushed onwards and went straight into the recording studio. Can you tell me what fueled you, what gave you strength to fight back and take something as negative as being fired for your art and turning it into a song release with benefits going to aid for Gaza?

AB: The ultimate aim of facsism, imperialism, capitalism, Zionism, all systems of oppression is to stifle our voices, and either wear us out or scare us into staying silent. If the goal of these systems and institutions is to silence the voices of the people, then the best way to retaliate is to deny them that.

I was told that Sunbirds was too political to sing. And then when I sang it I lost my job. I‘m regularly harrassed online and in-person by Zionists. I‘m told by friends and acquaintences that I should settle with Northern Health, take the money and move on. But this is how harmful people continue to hold power, and oppressive cycles remain unbroken. So instead, I decided to not only record and release Sunbirds, but to use it as a fundraiser for the very organization whose watermelon shirt got me in trouble in the first place, an organization sending humanitarian aid directly to Gaza. The song has gone viral now  – people are talking about what happened to me and vocalizing their outrage that our Charter rights can be so easily undermined. Sunbirds is a catalyst for change, and I feel incredibly grateful to be a part of the movement.

HK: What inspires you to write a lyric or a melody? These are turbulent times and I can only imagine there is a lot happening that is fuelling your creative spirits? Are there certain issues that your more passionate about than others?

AB: I am always listening for a word or a statement that captures what I am feeling or seeing in the world in a new and unique way. I am a storyteller, a seeker of beauty and a reflection of the humanity all around me. Always with the goal of collective liberation. Musically and sonically I am inspired by other artists, by the land I live on, and just jamming out with my friends on my mandolin!

HK: What musicians, activists, or people in general, have inspired you and your music career? And how does the protest music scene look like in your neck of the woods? Are there a lot of artists in your area using their voice for good? Any music recommendations you‘d like to throw our way?

AB: I stand on the shoulders of so many giants. I‘ve recently felt in great community with fellow outspoken healthcare leaders like Vash Ebbadi-Cook, Dr. Yipeng Ge, Dr. Deidre Nunan, and Sean Tucker; I am continuously learning from Catherine Frazee, Bisan Owda, Kelly Hayes, Mariame Kaba, Francesca Albanese, Harsha Walia, Alice Wong, Adrienne Maree Brown, the Wet‘suwet‘en Land Defenders, and the Comrades from Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), Migrant Rights Network, and Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). I‘m inspired by the music of Sinead O‘Connor, Billy Bragg, Allison Russell, The Tragically Hip. And you absolutely have to check out Kym Gouchie, Rachelle Van Zanten, Sam Tudor, Ride-by-Night, Chloe Davidson, Rae Spoon, Tanya Tagaq, Nemahsis, Kaia Kater – there are so many great musicians doing good work in Canada. I wish there were more artists speaking out, but those that are inspire me daily.

HK: What is next on the horizon for you? Musically or activism wise? Can we expect a new album soon?

AB: BDS all day every day! It‘s working, we must keep talking about Palestine (and Sudan, and the Congo).

I will be in Afterlife Studio (Vancouver) in June to record my next album. My hope is to have that record out by the end of the summer. I‘ll be touring and playing music festivals all spring and summer. I‘d love to tour in Iceland, so hit me up if you know how to make that happen!

I‘m also focusing energy on curating spaces for art to happen that are accessible, slow, and deliberately, consciously designed in a different way than the industry standard. If we are to truly move toward collective liberation, we need to guarantee that all voices and perspectives are present and contributing to that vision. Art spaces need disabled voices, older voices, Indigenous voices. I see my job as helping to curate these spaces and removing access barriers to get the right people in the door or on the stage.

HK: Finally, in an Instagram post, where you thank your fans and people around the world for supporting the release of Sunbirds, you‘re accompanied by a very handsome furry guy, named Seeger. I think the Shouts audience would very much like to confirm where that name comes from.

AB: This may be my favorite interview question of all time! Seeger is my amazing rescue dog. She came to me 6 days after the death of protest folk legend Peter Seeger. I grew up listening to Pete Seeger‘s music, and my Dad (also a musician) actually shared the stage with him once. They even wrote a couple letters back and forth. Pete is an icon so it was only fitting that I name my best girl after him.

HK: Thank you so much for participating. Anything else you‘d like to shout from the rooftops?

AB: Thanks so much for the chance to share some of my story! Feel free to reach out, I love connecting with Comrades across the globe. Solidarity!

News, Review

EP Album Review: I Ain’t So Blue by Emmy Ryan

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I Ain’t So Blue is Australian folk musician Emmy Ryan’s debut EP, and it’s an incredible showcase of her inner world, which is inevitably influenced by the world outside her. Comprised of seven songs and with a runtime just shy of thirty minutes, the EP is delightful, straightforward, topically relevant to the world at large, and, above all, honest. And it’s precisely this, Emmy’s honesty as a songwriter, that allows I Ain’t So Blue to feel like a unique display of talent and a promising sign for the music she will compose in the future.

As it is only fitting to start from the beginning, the EP opens with two tracks that effectively introduce us to Emmy’s sensibilities: Solo, So Low and A Place to Call Home. On the first song, we’re shown the meditative side of Emmy, as she is reminded of a past relationship, prompting her to reflect on the loneliness she is currently feeling. On the second one, she brings these meditative feelings to the world outside her mind, as the track is focused on the rise of interest rates on land, and how folks like her struggle to find a place to call home in the face of landlords’ monetary desires.

These two songs’ core elements can be found in many of the tracks on I Ain’t So Blue, as Emmy is capable of drawing us into her mind and the thoughts that inhabit it; but she can also get us to rally behind a just cause through the same process. The songs In My Dreams and How Many are great examples of this, as one is about navigating the insecurities around love and attraction, and the other is effectively a protest song that, thanks to the cover image used in the single version, we know is about the ongoing conflict in Palestine.

This is not to say that Emmy has a template when approaching music, rather, pointing this out shows how the fundamentals of the EP make it a cohesive and direct endeavor. Nowhere is this clearer than in the title track, I Ain’t So Blue, which is a fascinating song to choose to represent the project. The piece shows us a series of vignettes of Emmy’s world, intertwined with the chorus about how she’d tell the world she ain’t so lonely, that she ain’t so blue, but only if she’d convince herself that’s true. Considering that phrase is the first thing we see when opening the EP, there’s a sense that in the process of singing us these songs, with all the intimate feelings and worries attached to them, Emmy has in a way matured to tell us that, really, she ain’t so blue.

As for room for improvement, there is some space in the current folk music landscape that Emmy could use as inspiration for her next project. For starters, I Ain’t So Blue’s musical palette is perfectly suitable for the songs featured on it, but other folk musicians, take Mount Eerie as an example, have explored a diverse array of sounds that could also suit Emmy’s thematic ambitions in a more dynamic way. In terms of songwriting, Emmy’s intimate style could lean more into the vivid imagery already present in songs like Rainbow Trout, with artists such as Adrianne Lenker and Kara Jackson as possible guidance for this direction.

This is to say that Emmy’s future looks promising, as she is no doubt a talented and sensitive person who will continue to look inside and outside her world for inspiration. Hopefully, we get to hear more from her sooner rather than later.