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Best Rock Music Blog

It is almost impossible to imagine Western society without the influence of rock n roll; the artists that became renowned as (rock)gods, the aesthetic, the culture that so many live and breathe, and of course, the music that became the soundtrack to our lives. Many of the greatest artists of all time are of some rock inclination; whether that be Buddy Holly, Nirvana, or The Rolling Stones – the charts simply wouldn’t be the same without the unpredictable and volatile genre.

Rock started to emerge in the 1940s through the masterful rhythm of Chuck Berry and his contemporaries. Twenty years later, The Rolling Stones became the true face of rock n roll as they advocated for sex-positive youthful rebellion; this controversy became synonymous with rock which took the genre to brand-new cultural heights. By the 70s, artists started to push rock music into heavier, darker territories. At the same time, hard rock and metal were behind conceived; Pink Floyd gave rock trippier, more progressive tendencies with their seminal album, Dark Side of the Moon. Another major move in alternative music happened in the 70s as punk artists, such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols extrapolated rock elements and fused them into their punk sound.

The 80s was the era for sleaze rock, indie rock and college rock bands, while the 90s delivered the grunge movement with Nirvana, Hole, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam chomping at the aggressive discordant bit. Mainstream rock artists from across the globe became part and parcel of the music industry at the start of the 90s, but with the death of Kurt Cobain, the popularity of alternative music took a nosedive – despite the best efforts of Limp Bizkit, Staind, Puddle of Mudd and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

In any definitive guide of the best rock bands of all time, the rock artists that made their debut in the 21st-century are few and far between. But regardless of how much you want to pull the plug on the life support of rock, it isn’t quite dead – yet. For irrefutable proof, you only need to consider Black Midi, Yungblud, Greta Van Fleet, Highly Suspect, The Snuts, and Dirty Honey, who are all bringing in the new wave of classic rock – in their own way.

Contemporary rock may not sound like it used to, but that is one way in which rock has remained consistent over the past eight decades – it never has sounded like it used to. Each new generation of artists has found room for expressive and experimental manoeuvre.

Rooftop Screamers Burn the Illusion of Permanence with Glammed-Up Psych Rock Redemption in ‘Blink of an Eye’

Like a whirling dervish of harbingering psychedelia, Blink of an Eye by Rooftop Screamers featuring Royston Langdon uses nostalgically sinister synth lines to juxtapose the soul of the soaring vocals, which of the impermanence of circumstance.

The way we allow bitterness to intercept our ability to appreciate the moment is one of the greatest tragedies of perception. When everything feels like a given, we fool ourselves that there’s nothing to lose – but there’s no chance of letting that insidious sense of entitlement creep in with Blink of an Eye on your playlists. It leaves you compelled to crank the swaggering 80s glam rock crescendos louder, join along with the infectious chorus vox and take any opportunity to pull what you love closer into an orbit of gratitude.

The chameleonic skill of Rooftop Screamers in their high-profile collaborations is one thing; the talent that allows them to strike all the right epiphanous chords with their lyricism is another. While everyone knows change and death are the only certainties, their ability to etch that fatalism into a cathartic outpouring is what lodges beneath the skin long after the final note.

With Langdon’s unmistakable vocal command steeped in sincerity and urgency, and Mark Plati (David Bowie, The Cure) sculpting the sharp cinematic sonics, Blink of an Eye simmers as much as it stings. Power pop hooks, new wave pulses, and glam rock swagger are folded into the mix without ever becoming contrived.

Blink of an Eye is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Park National Spilled the Soul-Spiked Ache of Loving Through Self-Loathing in the Shoegazed Emo Anthem, ‘Your Mom’s House’

It took a few decades for Midwest emo to grow up, but that long-awaited maturity resounds in the sludgy shoegazed guitar tones of Your Mom’s House by Park National, which still delivers the visceral ache of emotions pouring out into a world that is all too ready to distort them with dissonance. But the cultivation on display that carves its way through the locked-on emotive target overdriven guitar tones elevates this anthem of ennui to the nth degree.

With one of the strongest guitar solos I’ve ever heard in emo-adjacent territory paired with the sheer striking sensibility of Your Mom’s House, which delivers the pained refrain of “just because I can’t love myself, doesn’t mean I can’t love you”, it is no surprise that Park National is amassing followers like there’s no tomorrow with the smorgasbord of resonance he distills into his vignettes.

Park National is the project of Chicago’s Liam Fagan, who broke through in 2020 with the self-produced The Big Glad, a record soaked in coming-of-age angst and serrated emo-pop textures. He’s now barrelling into new sonic territory with You Have to Keep Searching, a lo-fi-flecked, fuzz-soaked, genre-warping body of work that serves as a conduit for catharsis and chaos in equal measure. Guided by a DIY ethos and unflinching introspection, Fagan’s evolution is anything but obscure.

Your Mom’s House is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mercy Journey Baptised the Future of Worship Rock in the Electrified Salvation of ‘Soap and Water’

Soap and Water is a high-octane sojourn for the soul, an attestation for the catharsis of faith, and a modern rock earworm which sweeps you up in its fervently pious passion. With an anthemically kinetic chorus, Mercy Journey flipped the script on the expectations of worship music with a production style that blasts beyond the rock trajectory and lands squarely in the electronically augmented future of the genre. The debut single is enough to make Imagine Dragons sound positively antiquated.

Led by lyricist and executive producer Jon Pendleton, Mercy Journey delivered a defiant reminder that the grace of God doesn’t need to whisper when it can cascade through distorted guitar lines and exalted vocal deliveries. With electrifying riffs, transcendent crescendos, and vocals that resound with rapture, Soap and Water fully immerses you in spiritual affirmation.

Mercy Journey exists to remind the broken that grace is already waiting, and Soap and Water floods that message through layers of affecting instrumentation and lyrics that carry the weight of redemptive testimony. While the track has already pulled over 8,000 listeners into its current on Spotify, that figure barely scratches the surface of its reach.

Soap and Water is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LA’s Skittish Cracked the Whip of Existential Backlash with the Sardonic Alt-Indie Hit ‘Kicking In’

Skittish nestled into a niche between indie rock urgency and alt-pop accessibility with the release of Kicking In, a track that flirts and orders drinks at the bar for garage punk and nostalgic neo-pop to entice them into the stylings of this scorned yet superlative anthem that writhes through collective frustration.

They may be outliers on the airwaves through their refusal to fall into lines of monotony, but anyone searching for visceral authenticity and the opportunity to connect with an artist unafraid to wear their authenticity on their guitar strings will find their own form of reverie within Kicking In. The ennui resounds at a palpable level in spite of the high-octane energy of the earworm, which is battle-ready with euphoric choruses, razor-sharp angular indie guitar licks, and crooning vocal lines pinched with sardonic wit.

Jeff Noller’s DIY defiance has always been the pulse of Skittish, but with this new Los Angeles-based incarnation, he’s enlisted sonic arsonists including guitarist Chris Lahn, who carved searing licks into the heart of Kicking In, and drummer Ian Prince, who kept the rhythmic volatility simmering beneath the pop polish. It’s just one example of the genre-fluid chaos that defines the new EP Ugly Makes Pretty—a record that dances through its existential crises and punches back with hooks.

Kicking In is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sam Sample Scratched Scars into the Walls of Alt-Rock with ‘Rock Song’

Sam Sample tore through the rose-tinted sheen of sentimentality with the venom-spitting, bassline-rolling embodiment of volition that is Rock Song—a track carved for those who know how it feels to be gutted by their own good intentions. With instrumentals that deliver the same cathartic force as You’ve Got Time by Regina Spektor and the soul of rock ‘n’ roll siren-esque scorn, Rock Song amplifies far more than its guitars; it augments the heartbreak of knowing that love and loyalty can feel like the enemy when they’ve been placed in the palms of the wrong people.

The lo-fi-esque vintage garagey distortion doesn’t just nod to nostalgia—it grips your ribcage and drags you into a past before the warning signs were visible in your rear-view.  There’s a coarse, bristling sincerity in the production while Sam Sample rips apart the emotional wreckage of friendship fallouts and relational disillusionment with lyrical poise and melodic purpose.

The production values might come with a scrappy aesthetic, but there’s nothing unfinished about the way Rock Song lands. It refuses to romanticise suffering while refusing to let it pass without creative consequence. With each vocal howl and distorted groove, Sam Sample proves that rage and reflection can still share the same mic when you know where to aim the feedback.

Rock Song is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Jonathan Stephen Braught Raised a Kaleidoscopic Middle Finger to Convention in ‘Drug Shed’

Drug Shed from one of the most visionary troubadours of psychedelic country in the 21st century, Jonathan Stephen Braught, is a short, sharp sunstroke of sonic disobedience. Surfy, swanky, angularly kaleidoscopic guitars carry plenty of the instrumental weight in the single which ebbs and flows like the waves under the California sun as Jonathan Stephen Braught injects a little garage rock panache into the tropic psychedelic country pop earworm with his playful reprise of ‘I wish I had a drug shed’ which embeds itself into the playful vignette of mind alteration that conjures feelings of complete renegade freedom. Jonathan Stephen Braught is one of the rare kinds of artists you hear once and feel yourself become instantly endeared to. He’s a vibe in himself.

Operating somewhere between the sonic smog of lo-fi country, basement Americana and psych rock, Braught’s songwriting becomes the perfect circle in the unfiltered, weirdly witty, raw, and deeply human Venn diagram. His refusal to sand down the edges only amplifies the magnetic pull of his offbeat charm. From the opening hook to the last warped reverberation, Drug Shed rattles with the ragged joy of a brain just unspooling.

Written, recorded, and mastered in a creative flash fire as part of his latest project, Unorganized Crimes, Drug Shed is a bleary, unapologetically imperfect dispatch from a mind determined to make noise that tells the truth—even if it’s duct-taped together with half-broken guitars and fried drum loops.

Drug Shed is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Joey Collins Poured Bleeding Consciousness into Post-Hardcore Panache in ‘Is This What We’re Living For?’

If it’s been a minute since your last existential crisis, dig into Joey Collins’ latest single, Is This What We’re Living For?, which takes echoes of post-hardcore production and feeds them through quiescent melodicism as the lyrics thread a myriad of questions through the ethereal atmosphere. Even though the release carries few implicit answers, there’s plenty of resolution to be found within the emotional disillusionment, which serves as a timely tribute to the point of human evolution we’ve had the misfortune to reach. Thematically, Is This What We’re Living For? succeeds in portraying the true weight of self-awareness while carrying some of the burden for you.

With a deft hand for fusing volatile alt-rock with cinematic electronica, the Nottingham-based artist Joey Collins constructs sonic tension with the same precision he uses to tear at the seams of composure. Refusing to box himself into a single genre, Collins focuses on forging affective resonance through brooding synths, instrumental crescendos, and vocals that register as both pleas and declarations. His production style builds an architecture where intensity pulses through the walls of contemplation.

From his earliest days embedded in the local scene to earning praise from BBC Introducing, Notion, and Earmilk, Collins has matured into a purveyor of disquiet and catharsis. With a second album in the pipeline and a headline date at The Bodega on the books for August, 2025 is already bearing the marks of artistic evolution.

Is This What We’re Living For? is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Andrea Sandruvi Scored a Lament into the Strings of Post-Grunge in ‘Fate’

With his third single, Fate, Andrea Sandruvi went beyond tuning into the tones of post-grunge —he dredged the stylings from a place where anguish clings to melody like silt to skin. Inspired by a tragic incident in Piemonte, where a young man succumbed to despair and drowned in the cold indifference of a river, Fate kindles the dark side of kismet into an ocean of post-grunge emotion; you’ll struggle to keep your head above the waves as visceral vulnerability crashes over you.

The ethereal backing harmonies lend euphony to the production, which could have been torn from a tape deck cradling an alt-90s demo if it weren’t for the polish that swathes the agony in the progressive instrumental transgressions. With nods to artists in the same vein as Incubus and bluesy guitar motifs to temper the raw tendrils of grunge, there’s no denying the independent artist’s authenticity. Nothing in the instrumental arrangement feels borrowed. Every melodic movement sways under the weight of lived experience and a mind glazed with melancholia.

From picking up a guitar after a bolt-of-lightning visit from cousin Alessandro to playing countless covers in dimly lit clubs, Sandruvi’s roots in alternative and grunge run deeper than stylistic mimicry. Now, after cutting his teeth rearranging rock and pop in acoustic formats, he’s filtering that raw emotionality into original compositions, each track springing from something felt rather than forced. Fate doesn’t ask to be understood—it makes sure you feel every ache of it.

Fate is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OneSelf Wires Time into the Rock n Roll Console – An Interview with Mario Deschenes

Versions 'N' Not 8 by OneSelf Featuring Mario deschenes
In his latest conversation with us, OneSelf – the moniker of Mario Deschenes – lifts the curtain on his eighth album Versions ‘N’ Not 8 and the unflinching commitment it took to bring every beat, lyric, and mix to life single-handedly. Far from the well-trodden path of collaboration, Deschenes carves out his sound in total solitude, channelling each layer of his music through an uncompromising lens of personal discipline and emotional intent. The interview offers a rare look at how independence has sharpened his creativity rather than isolating it, as he reflects on his discography, explains his recording rituals, and hints at where his muse might take him next. With reflections on grief, growth, and the endless pursuit of innovation, this interview is a meticulous unpacking of artistic willpower and a refusal to stagnate.

OneSelf, thank you once again for talking to us. Last time, you gave us a fascinating insight into the creation of Seven Eleven. This time, we’d like to know more about your process and your artistic independence.

It’s a pleasure to talk to you about my most recent album, Versions ‘N’Not 8.  The Seven Eleven album was quite a journey.
You want to know more about my creative process and artistic independence. Wow It’s an answer of a lifetime, and I’ll try to describe my musical world as best I can.

You are the sole musician and producer on your albums, which is a remarkable feat. What are the biggest rewards and challenges that come with taking full creative control over every aspect of your music

Thank you for saying it’s a remarkable feat, but I don’t think so, I have as my source of motivation, if I don’t do it, there’s no one to do it.  If I don’t do it, there’s nobody to do it for me.
My greatest satisfactions are when I write a good text, create the music that goes with the lyrics, record it with the sound I want, with the arrangements that support the song. When the song is finished and I feel I can’t improve on it, then comes a moment of pride, which is short-lived. Because I remember a phrase from one of my creative teachers who said you’re as good as your last creation. If your song is good, well done, what about the next one?
 
While one of the greatest challenges of creative mastery is to continue to be creative after 8 albums, because I don’t want to repeat what I’ve already done, I’m always looking for what can be different, what will be different.
I’ve already started putting together songs for the next album, and I think I’ve figured out what it’s going to be about.
This search, which I’m talking about, starts with the writing, not repeating a way of doing things, a way of saying things, even if I’m not going to repeat myself.

When you are working on a track, how do you approach balancing the different roles — from songwriting to arrangement, performing, recording, and mixing — without external collaboration?

How do I approach balancing different roles? Well, I take on each role, one after the other.
When I write, I am a writer. I decide the text is good, and then I head to the studio to find the right drum rhythm to accompany the lyrics, the guitar sound, the interpretation of the words, and the emotions I want to convey. At this point, I become a guitarist, singer, and programmer in addition to being a writer. This is when I modify the lyrics
I’m in service of the song, making it the best it can be. I start by recording the drums. Once that’s done, I record the voice and the guitar simultaneously. The voice will be re-recorded later in the creative process. Then comes all the other instruments and arrangements.
Once the song is complete with mastering, I redo the final mix as many times as necessary until the song feels perfect.
All this is done without any external collaboration. Over time, I had to adjust to this approach, perhaps because I don’t like waiting—waiting for someone else to be ready. Plus, the time spent waiting could be used for something else. So, I learned to work independently in order to achieve the best possible quality for my songs. I must play different roles  for my songs, but I love it.

As the only musician on your albums, you must develop a distinct connection with each song. How do you decide when a track is truly finished and ready for release?

 Yes, I do have a certain connection with my songs, since I write them. Not all the songs I write are recorded. When it comes time to select the songs, I reread the lyrics as if I were not the one who wrote them. If they move me, appeal to me, and the theme resonates with me, I choose them. They then join other texts for a second selection.

Then comes the day of recording the album. Which song speaks to me the most? It’s a matter of feeling. Often, it is the lyrics that resonate with me the most. After that, the creative and recording process begins, all the way to the final mixing.

Once finished, I listen to the song on the living room sound system. If it sounds good, it’s fine. If something feels off, I investigate what might be wrong. If it’s the mixing, I rework it. If it’s good, the voice is clear, the instruments are well-balanced in the mix, and the song still appeals to me, that’s a good sign.
The next step is to listen to the song in the car with all the ambient noise while driving. If the song still pleases me, then I can say it’s finished and ready to be part of the album.
All these steps take time. And it’s the best way to have the best possible songs.

In what ways do you think your albums carry a unique signature because of your solo approach compared to records produced with full bands or external producers?

 It’s a difficult question because, so far, all my albums bear my signature at every step, through the entire creative process. I don’t know what happens in other bands; I can only imagine based on what I’ve read on the subject.
What is certain is that I make all the decisions, and I take full responsibility for them. If the album turns out well, I’m the one responsible, and that’s great—I appreciate it. If the opposite happens, I also take full responsibility and tell myself I’ll do better next time. I listen to what others say and see if I can improve certain aspects for the next album or song. If, however, it’s an artistic choice and someone suggests an approach I hadn’t thought of, I’ll definitely try their idea on another song.

Since I am the sole orchestrator of my albums and feel that I improve with each one, and since I have more ideas to try out, my method can’t be all that bad. I don’t know any other way to make an album besides the way I do, but what saves me is that I don’t want to repeat the same formula. I’m always looking for another way to make music, to write it, record it, and mix it.

I know there are still other aspects to explore.

Over the years, how has your independence shaped the evolution of your sound and recording techniques? Are there any moments in your discography that particularly stand out to you as milestones in your growth as a solo artist?

 When I look back on my past years, it’s clear that they have shaped my evolution, whether in writing or in the recording process. I was—and still consider myself—to be learning. I’m still learning and know that this journey won’t end with the next album.
I must say I started recording with a 4-track cassette recorder, then an 8-track cassette recorder, and later moved to digital, and so on. I have never stopped learning.
It took me years to trust myself and to embrace the fact that I am a songwriter, composer, performer, guitarist, singer, sound engineer, arranger, director, and producer.
Looking back, I understand that each song leads to another song, and each album leads to something different on the next. In the early albums, the songs marked my creative path and my journey of growth. For me, there was a turning point starting with the third album, Traces. There are very good songs on that album, but the fourth, Portraits of a Confidence Door 4, marked the biggest shift. It was an album I made after the death of one of my brothers, as a tribute to him.
The fifth album, Unicitude, was an album of freedom where I explored new aspects of creation. The sixth, Atypical So (A) Typical, felt like the most polished and refined album—at least that’s what I thought at the time.
Then came Seven Eleven, where I poured everything I had learned up until then into what I believe are very good songs.
Finally, my most recent, Versions ‘N’ Not 8. I thought the sixth would remain the most complete, but I was wrong. This album truly lives up to its name. The songs are multiple versions, at every stage of creation, resulting in the best final versions of each song.
From the fourth album to the eighth, these are records that reflect a departure from my earlier approach to albums.
I wouldn’t have been able to create Versions ‘N’ Not 8, my most recent, without making the ones before it. When I look at the songs now, I see the growing confidence that has taken shape and continues to develop.
I know what I’m capable of creating and where I’m headed. I’m already excited for what’s to come.

Since your music is entirely self-created, what does your songwriting environment look like? Do you have specific rituals or habits that help you stay creatively focused when you’re building an album from the ground up?

 My writing environment, at least at home, always includes a stack of paper and a pen, just in case… I don’t have any specific ritual to speak of. Inspiration can strike while reading a book, watching a show, having a conversation, or during a family dinner—or not.
Life in general provides me with plenty of inspiration;
however, it’s up to me to find the angle from which I want to approach what has caught my attention.
It’s up to me to write it—or not…

What new themes, sounds, or challenges are you aiming to explore in the future?

 I know that for my next album, I want to explore the theme of Time—the evolution of time and how it changes our lives. I’ll see where this idea takes me.
It’s possible that I might completely change direction, but one thing I do know is that I want to keep having fun with sounds and offer the best songs and videos I can create.
I want to stay connected to the music world in general, keeping up with new trends.
I aim to continue evolving musically, to provide you with the best lyrics and music you deserve.
Stream and purchase the latest LP from OneSelf via Bandcamp.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast

HeadFirst Tore Through the Fabric of Modern Disillusionment with ‘Retrograde’

Retrograde, taken from HeadFirst’s LP, Modern Role Models, serves as definitive proof to anyone over 30 that emo was never a phase while welcoming a new generation of grungy pop punk to the sanctity of raw augmented sincerity. With rapid-fire Bloodhound Gang-adjacent vocals snarling through the distortion and melodic hooks that are sharp enough to carve through any former earworms and lacerate a place for this infectious anthem, there’s no denying that Retrograde makes a monumental impact.

If you can imagine how affecting the middle ground between Fidlar, Foo Fighters and Dinosaur Jr would be, you’d get an idea of how the pulse of this track is given the reins to your rhythmic pulses as the lyrics latch onto the tension tearing through your world and give you an outlet.

Formed by Siraj Husainy, Coby Conrad, and Bima Wirayudha, HeadFirst fuse raw post-grunge fervour with the melodic pull of pop punk. Hailing from Boston, the trio pours electric, visceral energy into every performance, whether lighting up dive bars or packed-out venues. Their music rides the tightrope between nostalgia and cutting modernity, crafted with relentless rhythms, emotionally charged lyrics, and hooks designed to leave a lasting scar.

With Retrograde, HeadFirst have solidified their status as a powerhouse for anyone who craves loud, honest expression in a disillusioned world.

Retrograde is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast