Louis Emory and The Reckless Few turned back the clock on Americana rock n roll through the snaking curves of his guitars and the tensile vocal yearning in the standout single from his songwriting zenith-reaching EP, The Siege.
Whoever first said pace is the trick, is affirmed by Prophets Said.The mellow pacing, the production sprawling through your speakers as an atmospheric panorama of dusty phenomena of the soul and the way Emory takes charge with his visually rich voice, allows Prophets Said to almost take on a prophetic tone in its own right; maybe it’s the reverence to the annals of blues, maybe it’s the shimmering organ tones, which light up the dust kicked up in the vintage-toned production, or maybe it’s the piety Emory shows towards matters of the heart which makes the single is affecting. Whatever component it may be, there’s no disputing that Louis Emory knows exactly how to pull together a hit that deserves a spot in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
Emory knows exactly how to hold conviction and tenderness in the same breath, which will undoubtedly go down a soul-warming storm for fans of the open-road spirit of Tom Petty, the rootsy grace of The Band, and George Harrison’s heart-led searching. Coming as part of The Siege, the follow-up to 2022’s Love Italy, the track sits within a record shaped by identity, love, loss, resilience, and the pressure of choosing meaning in uncertain times.
Prophets Said is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
The John Lister Project exemplified the importance of the human soul in sound with the latest single, Highwayman. At the centre of the project is composer, musician and producer John Lister, whose body of work is built on original songs played note by note on real instruments, with no AI shortcuts, no borrowed performance samples, and no drum-loop sterility flattening the life out of the music. That commitment matters, because Highwayman lives and breathes through raw resolve. Reverent to the roots of rock, Lister knows exactly how to tap into your psyche through your rhythmic pulses while immersing you in lyrical narratives which sprawl before you as vivid vignettes.
There’s an almost arcane air to Highwayman, delivering the same hazy sublimity as The Zombies through the shimmering organ tones, while intersecting those woozy qualities with gasoline-soaked, overdriven rock ’n’ roll guitars. That tension gives the release the progressive panache to keep you hitting repeat, wanting to be gripped again by the chameleonic transitions between timbres and levels of visceralism. The road-worn narrative of speed, distance and lone-eyed fixation only deepens the spell. It’s a stunning release, and an unquestionable triumph for artists pushing back against the generic banality of AI. Rock roots don’t get much deeper than this.
Highwayman is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Reverbnation. Review by Amelia Vandergast
In the wider world of work, conversations about retirement always circle back to productivity, economic strain, and the supposed fairness of passing the baton to younger generations. Every political cycle brings the same predictable suggestion that the retirement age should be lowered so younger workers can finally get a foothold.
Yet in rock, the idea of stepping aside belongs to another universe entirely. Suggestions of retirement are practically framed like insults. You only need to look at artists likeOzzy Osbourneor bands such asThe Rolling Stonesto see how deep the refusal to bow out is. Ozzy pushed himself back into the spotlight at moments when most people would decide to spend as much time as they could with their friends and family. The Rolling Stones feel inseparable from the stage itself, as if the only thing that will finally call time is the mortal coil. They’d probably have no reservations about being wheeled out on stage in their caskets. On the surface, it looks poetic, admirable even, but underneath the myth-making sits a far less glamorous story about a genre that clings to legacy with such force that it locks doors for those trying to come through after them. When you look closely at the labour politics of music, rock’s resistance to retirement mirrors the country’s wider structural issues, and the cracks can be seen everywhere.
The Myth of the Eternal Rocker
The refusal to retire has been romanticised for decades. Audiences cling to the narrative that rock artists are built differently, that they feel no fear, no fatigue, and no ceiling on what the body can withstand. That mythology sets everyone up to fail. For artists, it creates a suffocating expectation that they must grind their way through age, illness, or sheer exhaustion. Fans who grew up with them often demand the same version of their musical youth, no matter how much time has passed. For the industry, the myth becomes a convenient shield that obscures uncomfortable questions about where the money actually sits.
If you take the case of Dick Dale, you’ll see how bleak the reality behind the glamorisation really is. Dale was celebrated as the King of the Surf Guitar, yet he spent his 70s and 80s far beyond royal treatment on physically punishing tours, which became a brutal necessity. He was working through severe health conditions because he needed to cover medical bills. People often retell the story with awe, but lurking under that awe is a failure of social systems that pushed a legendary musician to fight through terminal cancer to stay alive. It is not the act of playing itself that felt tragic; it was the absence of any safety net. Rock culture shaped the narrative around stoic resilience, but the truth is that he was performing because he had no realistic alternative when he found that his insurance wouldn’t scratch the surface of his medical bills.
The Gatekeeping of Legacy
The other complicated reality is that rock has become an old boys’ club in a way few people seem eager to acknowledge openly. Of course, they’d only be met with accusations of bitterness and/or inferior talent if they did. It’s all a sanctimonious circle jerk, lubed up by radio stations which refuse to play underground and breakthrough artists in this era when legacy dominates everything. The biggest festival slots still go to artists who peaked before most of Gen Z were born, and most of the newer rock acts are confined to smaller stages on their headline tours, leaving the arenas and stadiums to artists who reached their peak decades ago.
That loyalty to legacy can feel comforting. It preserves lineage and keeps stories alive. Yet it also shapes expectations so tightly that younger musicians trying to create something without a retro filter end up treated like outliers. New bands who refuse to model themselves on 70s, 80s, and 90s tropes often have little room to breathe. Those who lean into pastiche get further, which explains why so many start-ups in rock still rely on the same recycled swagger, misogynistic lyrics, and old-school formulas. When the industry rewards imitation over innovation, it is no surprise that breakthroughs feel rare or that when a rock band does break through, they reek of nepotism.
A Career with No Off-Ramp
Part of the issue is structural. Rock is one of the few career paths with no established off-ramp. Most musicians never expect pensions. Safety nets are uncommon. The lifestyle is so precarious that stepping back can feel like a financial cliff edge. Even major artists face enormous pressure to keep touring, because touring is the only reliable income left. When musicians come from backgrounds where money was never a worry, the choice to keep going feels like passion. When they come from backgrounds without financial insulation, the refusal to retire becomes tied to survival.
That divide helps explain why watching older rock artists grind through gruelling schedules creates such a knot of emotions. There is pride in the commitment, but also unease. People admire the fire, but something feels fundamentally skewed when artists who shaped the entire DNA of modern guitar music still need to throw themselves around on stages in their 70s and 80s to pay their bills. The industry thrives on nostalgia, but nostalgia has become a trap. It keeps the older generation working long past the point where rest should be a right, and it blocks new talent from escaping the chokehold of heritage worship.
Where Do We Go From Here?
If rock is to evolve, the culture around retirement and legacy needs a serious reshaping. I’m not suggesting putting everyone over 60 out to pasture, but maybe it would be nice to reject the romantic framing of eternal youth and endless stamina. Rock musicians aren’t immune to bad backs, dodgy hips, thyroid issues and arthritis.
There are phenomenal young rock artists scattered across the UK right now who aren’t relying on nostalgia or macho posturing, yet breaking through feels like hacking a concrete wall with a teaspoon. The industry has to stop curating the landscape as a museum and start treating it as a living ecosystem.
New festivals need to take risks. Radio needs to rewire its priorities. Fans need to stop waiting for clones of their teenage idols and start engaging with the next wave on its own terms. And somewhere in the middle of all that, the idea of stepping back from the stage has to lose its stigma. Retirement should feel like a transition, not a defeat. Rock’s greatest icons will always loom large, but they shouldn’t have to hold up the entire infrastructure until the final breath.
Robert Larrabee’sNothing Great Comes from Hate salved one of the sickest facets of society with its vintage-toned, charisma-soaked defiance. Reverence for the annals of rock n roll and the lineage of bluesy protest tracks collides with a wide-awake social consciousness, making people on both sides of the political spectrum pause and reflect on how their animosity is only causing more friction, leading to more tears in our social fabric.
With all the conviction of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son and Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth, Larrabee ensured that his legacy as a stripes-earned rock n roll unreckonable force is one that not only exhibits his talent but creates a ripple effect of consciousness and positive action.
The intentions behind the single run deeper than nostalgia or genre loyalty. After decades striding through international stages, film sets, and theatrical productions, Larrabee now channels his experiences into messages he feels carry weight. His reflections on unity, compassion and inherited responsibility shape the core sentiment of his discography.
The writing draws from memories of relatives who fought for freedoms that were never meant to be twisted into division. That thread ties cleanly into his wider body of work. As a Nashville recording artist and long-standing performer, he has built a signature show, An Evening With The Legends, where live impressions of iconic artists sit beside original material written in tribute to those who shaped him. Across casino residencies, cruise contracts and tours around the US, Mexico, London and Australia, he has honed a way of narrating musical lineage while keeping audiences leaning in.
Nothing Great Comes from Hate is now available on all major streaming platforms; for the full experience, stream the official music video on YouTube.
FGA didn’t reinvent the wheel with his latest single; he gripped it tight and veered classic rock motifs into uncharted territory. ‘Hitchhiker’ is the sound of the open road—untamed, unpredictable, and impossible to resist. From the moment the hypersonically infectious energy kicks in, the kaleidoscope of honeyed riffs and magnetically rallying vocals lock into a momentum that effervesces with soul. Every note carries the free spirit of its protagonist, nothing is tethered, and everything feels effortlessly unshackled.
With the raw nostalgia of tape-recorded rock and the exhilaration of an all-gas-no-brakes production, the track cruises through psychedelia-tinged rhythms that nod to ‘60s surf rock pioneers while charging forward with the force of modern alternative rock. Dan Konopka’s (OK GO) irreplicable percussion adds an infectious dynamic to the track, ensuring indie kids and those who kneel at the altar of unadulterated rock will find plenty of reasons to affix Hitchhiker to their playlists.
Freddie Gibbs—the Texas-born force behind FGA—has spent years distilling a lifetime of musical education into his craft. Raised on a record collection spanning Led Zeppelin to Pearl Jam, his songwriting carries the weight of experience, shaped by nights spent playing Austin’s underground scene and road-tripping into the unknown. Now working from his home studio, his music lands somewhere between grunge’s bruised introspection and stoner rock’s freewheeling escapism.
‘Hitchhiker’ is a track built for windows-down abandon, a reminder that the road ahead is always calling. It’s now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
With Photographs, the standout single from Ralph Bishop’s debut LP, The Path, the 18-year-old artist from Dorset threads theatrical intensity with classic rock sophistication. Far from settling into well-trodden territory, Bishop carved a distinct niche by pairing his histrionic harmonies with an unapologetically dramatic arrangement that would be equally at home on the airwaves or the Broadway stage.
The track’s emotional depth is as vast as Bishop’s awe-inspiring octave range, which soars alongside the cabaret piano, chamber strings, and searing guitar solos that nod to the golden age of 80s rock. Rather than overpowering the melody, the instrumentation leaves space for Bishop’s theatric vocals to command attention, balancing subtlety with unrelenting intensity.
Lyrically, Photographs transcends rock’s usual fare by delving into the poignant fragility of our relationship with mementoes, inviting listeners to reflect on how memories can simultaneously comfort and haunt. Bishop’s piercing poetry only amplifies the visceral weight of his performance, proving his talent isn’t just in the notes he hits but in the stories he tells.
Having cut his teeth in front of crowds as young as 11 and sharpened his musicianship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Bishop brings a maturity beyond his years to his solo career.
Electric Cherry never fails to live up to their moniker, but with the sticky-sweet super-charged currents tearing through the renegade of a rock anthem, Anyway You Want, the Roman rock n roll powerhouse amped up their sound to the nth degree.
As a teaser of what is to come from their upcoming album, CHERRY HEART, the rhythmically salacious slice of high-octane scintillation hits it out of the hard rock park while simultaneously throwing back to the classic rock pioneers and synthesising cinematic white knuckle momentum into the riff-decorated earworm.
As far as ticking all the right hard rock boxes goes, Electric Cherry received full marks with Anyway You Want which narrates the death knell of a relationship as it becomes platonic, leaving bitter-sweet glimmers of hope for the future. The melodic hooks in the chorus vocals become razors to the soul when sharpened by the hopeless romanticism in the lyricism. There’s no getting out of this single unaffected once you hit play.
The official music video for Anyway You Want is now available to stream on YouTube.
Follow Electric Cherry on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with news of their upcoming LP, CHERRY HEART.
Baltimore-based artist Buddy Pease dives evocatively deep with his latest single, ‘Vampires at the Door’, introducing a glimpse into a visceral intersection where classic rock riffs meet soul-stirring existential angst.
Opening with steady, euphonic guitar chords, the song ramps up with soaring Slash-reminiscent guitar work that electrifies the production, priming listeners for a soundscape laced with the gritty intensity fans of Soundgarden will instantly recognise.
Pease’s imploringly raw vocal lines add a striking edge to the track, reaching into the psyche as he exposes the shadowy figures of human existence—the ones that lurk like parasites on the fringes of everyday life.
Through each evocative twist in the melodies, ‘Vampires at the Door’ becomes more a revelation of Pease’s ability to capture the unease and silent struggles many of us contend with.
With his new album slated for release in the next few weeks, Pease signals he’s more than just a fledgling in the scene; he’s one to save space for on your radar as he sonically visualises the raw, universal undercurrents of human experience.
The official music video for Vampires at the Door premiered on October 16; stream the horror-esque video on YouTube now.
Chenzo’s latest instrumental guitar single, The Greatest Adventure, is a dualistic triumph, an exhibition of technical skill, simultaneously standing as a testament to resilience. After a career nearly severed by hand surgeries, Chenzo returned from the brink to deliver a sound that fuses the intricacies of math rock with the timeless energy of classic rock, proving he’s earned his place in the riff-master pantheon.
The Greatest Adventure cathartically awakens your rhythmic pulses as the interwoven notes defy conventional time signatures while melt-worthy progressions strip the weight from your soul. The expansive soundscape surges with energy, punctuated by drum fills and bursts of momentum that give the track its pulse. Stick with the score, and you’ll be treated to riffs that echo the greats of the genre—proof that Chenzo’s shredding skills haven’t just endured, they’ve evolved.
Years of recovery have refined his sound, allowing for a more structured, concise approach to songwriting. No longer limited to shredding for shredding’s sake, Chenzo’s music now affectingly resonates through melodies that resolve with the clarity of a vocal line, creating a connection beyond technicality.
Stream the official music video for The Greatest Adventure on YouTube now.
In her latest seminal single, 1-800-Cyber-Bully, the indomitable breakthrough icon, Jordyn Rayne, lyrically modernised rock n roll while staying reverent to the roots of the genre.
With a powered-by-dynamism voice to rival Donita Sparks of L7 and Joan Jett, Jordyn Rayne proved her mettle as a rock vocalist in the hit that pours with conviction as it berates antagonists who spinelessly sink their teeth into their victims behind the security of screens.
The emotional underpinnings of 1-800-Cyber-Bully serve as a tragic sign of the times, yet, rock has always served to speak for the disenfranchised and Rayne affectingly carried the genre’s rebellious legacy on the overdriven crunched chords in this high-octane hit that ticks all the right rock boxes and distinguishes Rayne as an artist unafraid to lend her ferocity to fighting injustice.
Whichever vanguard she stands at next, one thing is for sure, the Alberta-hailing visionary is worth keeping at the front and centre of your memory if you seek sanctuary in hair-raising rock anthems.
1-800-Cyber-Bully was officially released on June 7th; stream the single on all major platforms and follow Jordyn Rayne via this link.
