THE 20 BEST ALBUMS OF 2025 (SO FAR): the biggest swing yet from long-running Boston outfit Hallelujah the Hills. The high-concept conceit may be the hook, but bandleader Ryan Walsh’s thoughtful lyrics and the sextet’s expansive indie-folk-rock make the whole thing sing.

The group’s new project, DECK, is a 54-song quadruple-album masterwork based on a deck of cards (each album represents a suit, with 13 songs each that correspond to numbers and face cards, plus two instrumental tracks as “jokers”). It’s wildly creative, weird in the best way and a little messy.

It’s limitless, everything independent music can sound like...DECK isn’t just a collection of albums. It’s an experiment in how we engage with music.

Every album of the DECK has a handful of songs that are among the Hills' best. Clubs, for instance, has 'Burn This Atlas Down', a surging melancholic-rocker that does its best to live up to the 'featuring Craig Finn" tag (it does).

Be prepared for them to see your bet and raise you four concept albums..."DECK" can sometimes sound as if you're listening to a party of performers where Hallelujah is the house band and guest stars take turns bringing their tender, raucous acts to the stage.

[A] cacophony of scorching guitars and heart-pounding drums. DECK is as ambitious as they come.

A monument to the power of creativity and an essential history of the music that influenced Ryan, and us all, over the past few decades. It's also one of the best albums of the year.

2025 BEST ALBUM, BEST OF BOSTON. A royal flush of stellar songwriting, with local alt-rock icons and vibrant performances ranging from laidback indie rock to speedball post-punk to acoustic ballads.

The whole thing is sprawling, wild, fun, overwhelming, and awesome.

Spectacular no matter how you listen to it.

A magnum opus in the making…Each song feels contextually essential…It's just a great achievement.

Massive undertakings like this can sometimes feel like a mishmash of half-finished ideas that begin to all blend together, but this is far from the case with DECK.

The concept is brilliantly executed – Diamonds features polished, radio-friendly tracks; Clubs delivers faster, punkier "bangers"; Hearts showcases emotionally vulnerable material; while Spades explores experimental territory...[It's an] extraordinary musical achievement.

Deck is just too big and various to cover in a normal sized review, but it’s very much worth tackling in bits. If you’ve ever enjoyed Walsh’s clever, hyper-verbal mayhem, you’ll enjoy this. Just make sure you have snacks handy and are wearing comfortable clothes. You’re going to be here for a while.

The Boston band’s most daring and imaginative undertaking yet

There’s something deeply cathartic about shouting into the void with a guitar, and Boston’s indie rock band Hallelujah The Hills knows exactly how to do it.

EXPERT PICKS: In June, Boston indie rock legends Hallelujah the Hills will release their latest double-LP, DECK: Diamonds.

Hallelujah The Hills Announce Four-Album Project DECK Feat. Craig Finn, Patrick Stickles, Cassie Berman, & More

For 20 years, Boston’s Hallelujah The Hills have made full-blast rock ‘n’ roll that manages to be literate without ever losing its sense of humor. So it’s appropriate that the band is celebrating with its biggest and most eye-popping concept record to date: a four-LP set of 52 songs called “DECK".