I track music I listen to through Last.fm every day, and the 2025 report from the site captured a year where I made an effort to listen to a lot of new music but returned to favourites often.

I listened to a lot of Softcult, Ian Penn, Matthew Sweet, The Dears, and Hiroyuki Sawano in 2025. Sawano’s Xenoblade Chronicles X soundtrack was playing as a constant. Ian Penn’s Seascapes was another brilliant folk album I return to again and again. Dream Kittu’s cover of “Uncontrollable” from the Xenoblade Chronicles X soundtrack was another aspect of that game bleeding out into my life.

Ian Penn’s new album Seascapes is a beautiful, understated folk experience. He consistently delivers engrossing albums and I was delighted again to sit with this one repeatedly.

https://youtu.be/Ym_CS_-iV6E?si=qQjo9t7h5edSWOMT

https://apollolemmon.com/2025/05/19/seascapes/

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Ian Penn shared a solo live performance of “Gaze Into Her Eyes” that brings the song into simple focus.

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https://apollolemmon.com/2023/07/03/ian-penn-gaze-into-her-eyes-live/

I’m always excited to hear new music from Ian Penn, so it was nice to be able to listen to the premiere of his new single today. “I’d Be Asleep By The Time We Get Home” is another beautifully crafted song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skLFX3cUaaQ

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It's a day of heavy rain today in Halifax, and when Ian Penn's "It's Going to Rain" came on it felt like the perfect fit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0map0QKEVFE

#IanPenn #rain

Ian Penn – “Lady of the Abandoned”

Ian Penn has been releasing short films to accompany tracks from his Headlights in the Fog album, and the film for "Lady of the Abandoned" fits the song's heartbreaking lyrics.

https://apollolemmon.com/2022/07/20/ian-penn-lady-of-the-abandoned/

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Ian Penn – “I’m Sorry for it was a Broken Heart Who Loved You”

To go along with his new album, Ian Penn has released a short film for the song "I'm Sorry for it was a Broken Heart Who Loved You". It's a beautifully shot video and the track itself is a delicate song that reminds me of some of the finer Leonard Cohen songs.

https://apollolemmon.com/2022/07/06/ian-penn-im-sorry-for-it-was-a-broken-heart-who-loved-you/

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Ian Penn – “You Met Me When I was 23”

"You Met Me When I was 23", Ian Penn's new single, is another beautiful, tender song from a phenomenal songwriter.

https://apollolemmon.com/2022/03/01/ian-penn-you-met-me-when-i-was-23/

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Ian Penn – “Planet Earth Feels Lonely”

It's the shortest track on Two Drank Soju, but "Planet Earth Feels Lonely" is such an earworm that it can't be forgotten.

https://apollolemmon.com/2021/06/13/ian-penn-planet-earth-feels-lonely/

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Ian Penn – “The Bed Sheets are Immaculate”

Ian Penn has released a video for one of the highlights of his Two Drank Soju album, "The Bed Sheets are Immaculate".

https://apollolemmon.com/2021/06/05/ian-penn-the-bed-sheets-are-immaculate/

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