25 Was Us
Thomas Geelens · Blue Eyed Afropop
7.5/10
Reviewed 2026-05-22
The Roast
“25 Was Us is age-anchored songwriting at its purest. Pick a year. Hang an entire relationship arc off it. Trust that the listener will project their own version of that year onto your verses. The technique has been monetized by indie pop for fifteen years and Thomas knows it. The difference with this track is that the writing actually earns the conceit. Twenty five is a real hinge year in most people's lives, the moment where the soft scaffolding of your twenties starts to harden into the shape of who you are going to be, and the song treats that with the right amount of weight without tipping into self-importance. The production carries the afropop fingerprint Thomas has been refining since the early 2020s. The vocal performance is the most lived-in he has put on tape this year. The bridge is the part that does the heavy lifting and it does the work.”
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The Bright Side
25 Was Us is the strongest example of Thomas's songwriting maturity in his current catalog. Age-anchored songwriting usually traps the writer in nostalgia. This one uses the year as a frame, not a crutch. The bridge alone is worth the streaming.
Hardest Sneer
“Naming a track 25 Was Us in 2026 means committing to a piece of writing that will only fully land for people currently between 22 and 30. The song is going to age like a Polaroid. Beautifully and slightly out of focus.”
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