Rock Reviews
54 Rock records in the Certified Archive. Every one of them earned five rainbow thumbs-up, because we only publish reviews of records we think are great — so treat this page as a listening list rather than a ranking. Newest first.
Bimbo's 'The Bimbonacci Sequence' Is a Gleefully Unpredictable Masterpiece of Sibling Noise
A brother-and-sister duo from Marquette, Michigan make their full-length debut on Exploding In Sound: eight tracks of lurching, funny, genuinely unguessable noise rock, cut to tape at Dead River Sound.
The Klittens' 'Have A Heart' Is a Bracing, Big-Hearted Masterpiece of a Debut
After years of EPs and EU touring, the Amsterdam five-piece finally make an album — thirteen tracks of '90s-indebted guitar interplay and five-way vocals, recorded by Yulya Divakova and mastered by Mikey Young.
Blondshell's 'Violins' Is the Sound of a Songwriter Who Stopped Apologizing for the Volume
Sabrina Teitelbaum's third record, eleven songs in thirty-nine minutes for Partisan. Yves Rothman produced, Beatriz Artola mixed, Emily Lazar mastered. Metacritic has it at 80 across nine reviews, Album of the Year at 80 across thirteen, with Clash and Under the Radar both landing in the nineties.
Gilla Band's 'Pugnello' Is a Deafening, Hilarious Masterpiece of Controlled Demolition
Four years and three Dublin studios later, the Irish quartet's fourth album lands ten tracks in forty-two minutes and gets scored 8.8 and Best New Music by Pitchfork, Album Of The Week by Stereogum, and five stars from both The Guardian and The Irish Times. Loud is the least interesting thing about it.
C.O.F.F.I.N's 'Out In Oslo' Is 33 Minutes of Australian Rock'n'Roll With the Dirt Left In
Eleven tracks, thirty-three minutes, produced by Declan Mehrtens for King Gizzard's p(doom) Records — the Sydney band's sixth LP after twenty-one years of grinding. Post-Trash: 'The pretense is practically non-existent. The fun? Abundant.' The Fire Note gave it 4 out of 5.
The Drin's 'I Lost My Way For Centuries' Is a 75-Minute Attic Epic That Never Loses the Thread
Twenty-three tracks, seventy-five minutes, self-produced and recorded in an attic for Feel It Records. The Fire Note gave it 4.5/5 and called it their best album yet; Sun 13 called it a tour-de-force and the band's most dynamic record.
Slow Pulp's 'Melodie' Is a Shape-Shifting Triumph of Second-Gear Songcraft
Slow Pulp hand the wheel to an outside producer for the first time — Elliott Kozel — and come back sounding like four bands at once: shoegaze, power-pop, a go-go beat, a piano-and-banjo ballad. The Line of Best Fit says it hums with the confidence of a band coming into their own.
Team Dresch's 'Furthermore' Is a Thirty-Years-Later Masterpiece of Queercore Fire
The queercore legends' first full-length since 1996's Captain My Captain, out on Jealous Butcher. Produced with Greg Griffith in Bristol, Connecticut, mixed by John Goodmanson. AllMusic says it sounds remarkably like they never left.
Unity's 'Comes Back To You/Was There Ever Unity?' Is a Gloriously Fuzzy Masterpiece of Second Thoughts
Sixteen songs assembled from years of sessions by Jeffrey Cheung's Oakland band, out on the tiny Smoking Room label. Two titles, two halves, one enormous pile of guitar fuzz. The Fire Note gave it four out of five; Stereogum clocked the single on the way past.
Pretty Sick's 'Anarchy' Is a Woozy, Fearless Masterpiece of Texture
Sabrina Fuentes's second Pretty Sick album for Dirty Hit, produced mostly by Oscar Scheller. She put the fuzz pedals down and rebuilt the whole band out of synths, club kicks and distortion. Clash gave it 8/10.
Crying Laughing's 'Talking' Is a Sweat-Soaked Masterpiece of One-Day Recording
The debut album from a Baltimore quintet built around two alto saxophones, cut live in a single day in a basement studio and released on Hausu Mountain. Eight instrumentals that swing like a band and build like a post-rock record.
The Tubs' 'Hard Life' Is an Exhilarating Masterpiece of Jangle and Spite
The London band's third album and first for Merge — twelve songs of fiddle-flecked jangle-pop sung by two warring personas. It's sitting at an 85 critic average across seven reviews, with Mojo handing it a perfect score.
Rubber Band Gun's 'Bloodwork' Is a Surprise Drop Built Like a Basement Brill Building
Kevin Basko dropped this one online on a Wednesday night with no warning, cut at his own home studio with the Historic New Jersey crew. Stereogum called the arrangements 'loose and lovely'; Paste called the Philly basement it came from 'the new Brill Building.'
Arab Strap's 'Half-Told Tales' Is a Widescreen Masterpiece of Late-Career Nerve
Ninth album, out on Rock Action, fourteen tracks, recorded again with longtime collaborator Paul Savage. Metacritic has it at 84 across seven reviews — universal acclaim. The Quietus says the arrangements are the most far-reaching of the band's thirty-year career.
Convinced Friend's 'Nowhere Songs' Is a Sun-Warped Masterpiece of Hometown Reckoning
Eight songs from a Providence band, tracked largely live in a single day at Big Nice Studio with Bradford Krieger producing. Bandcamp Daily's Ben Salmon put it in his August country roundup; Under the Radar called the chemistry swampy and heat-drenched. This is what a self-released record sounds like when nobody is hedging.
Chat Pile's 'Who Loves the Sun' Is a Merciless, Deeply Soulful Noise-Rock Triumph
The Oklahoma City noise-rock band's third album is self-produced and mixed again by Ben Greenberg of Uniform, and it lands at an 82 critic average on Album of the Year. Ten tracks of corroded low-end and genuine tenderness — heavier and stranger than anything they've done.
Lily Seabird's 'Lightspheres On Their Way' Is a Woodstove-Warm Level-Up
Nine songs cut in the first days of 2026 in Garrett Linck's woodstove-heated house in rural Maine, out on Lame-O. Cello, trumpet, harmonium and lap steel around some of the sharpest songwriting of Seabird's career. Stereogum's Album Of The Week, and a Paste Pick at A-.
Ty Segall's 'Chrome' Is the Sound of a Band Actually Hanging Out
Segall's eighteenth album, out on Drag City with Cooper Crain co-producing, is the one where he stops arranging the room and just lets the room play. Nine tracks, roughly thirty-two minutes, and the working band — Ben Boye, Evan Burrows, Mikal Cronin, Emmett Kelly — writes half the songs with him.
Chelsea Wolfe's 'The Dark' Is a Patient, Guitar-Lit Record That Finally Opens the Door
Ten songs, out August 21st on Loma Vista, produced with Jennifer Decilveo. It sits at a Metacritic 79, and The Guardian reckons it's the collection that takes Wolfe to a wider audience after two decades underground.
Dinosaur Jr.'s 'There Near' Is a Loud, Melodic Reminder That the Original Lineup Still Has Gears Left
The reunited original trio's newest, out August 28th on Jagjaguwar, cut at their own Bisquiteen Studio in Amherst. Eleven songs, two Lou Barlow contributions, and a Metacritic average of 82. Pitchfork called it the most energized they've sounded since Beyond.
Jim James's 'Wowed Out' Is a Self-Produced Salvage Job That Turns Into a Gift
Ten self-produced songs from the My Morning Jacket frontman, out August 28th on ATO. Metacritic has it at 79 from six reviews, every one of them positive. Mojo calls it a rescue operation on his own archives.
Maripool's 'Rotten Luck' Is a Debut That Sounds Bigger Than One Person
Natacha Simões' debut as Maripool, written on a Lisbon residency in a building with a broken window and no Wi-Fi, recorded in South London with Joseph Futak. Out on Smoking Room. Stereogum made it Album of the Week.
Westside Cowboy's 'It Goes On' Is the Loudest Argument for Guitar Bands All Year
The Manchester four-piece's debut, recorded with Geese producer Loren Humphry. Eleven tracks, all four members sing. Stereogum's Album of the Week, Paste called it the most brilliant rock release of the year, Beats Per Minute gave it 83.
The Afghan Whigs's 'Soft Control' Is a Late-Career Record With No Interest in Acting Its Age
Ten songs cut across four studios in Joshua Tree, New Orleans, East Hollywood and Cincinnati, with Patrick Keeler, Petra Haden and My Morning Jacket's Bo Koster guesting. Every single collected review scores it 70 or above — eight of them, averaging 80.
The Odyssey Cult's 'Vol. 3' Turns a Solo Project Into a Psych Cathedral
Ethan Miller's dormant solo outlet comes back after nine years as a full band — Comets On Fire, Carlton Melton, Sonic Youth and Osees personnel all over it. Eight tracks on Silver Current. Raven Sings the Blues calls it one of 2026's most surprising gems.
Ok Cowgirl's 'Rhinestone Cowgirl' Is a Big-Sky Indie Rock Record With Slide Guitar in Its Teeth
Leah Lavigne's project decamps to Asheville, hands the board to Alex Farrar, and comes back with ten tracks of wide-open dream-rock that borrows alt-country's horizon without cosplaying the genre. Bandcamp Daily made it Album of the Day. Slide guitars wail. Nobody apologizes.
Primate House Turn Jagged Angles Into a Debut That Never Lets You Get Comfortable
A self-released Brooklyn debut that trades comfort for constant surprise — jagged guitar lines, unresolved melodies, and not a single moment that lets you settle in. This is exactly the kind of record Bandcamp Daily's weekly digging exists to find.
Squirrel Flower Finds the Cure for Everything on the Open Road
Ella O'Connor Williams' sixth album, cut with producer Alex Farrar at Drop of Sun Studios, treats the open road as both subject and cure. Paste singled out 'Cleveland' as one of the best songs she's ever written, and it's hard to argue.
Wild Pink's Still Coming Down Is a Towering, Hopeful Rock Record
John Ross's sixth Wild Pink album follows his cancer-recovery record with one shaped by new fatherhood, and it sounds like it — anthemic sprawl, scratchy grooves, and Ross's most confident songwriting yet. 'I feel like I've found my voice on this record,' he told FLOOD.
L'Rain's 'fata morgana' Is a Mirage You Never Want to Wake Up From
L'Rain keeps proving that 'experimental' doesn't have to mean 'unlistenable' — fata morgana swings from ambient hush to speed-metal wall-of-sound without ever losing the thread. It's disorienting in the best way, like waking up in a dream you don't want to leave.
Kiwi Jr.'s 'Blowin' Up' Is Jangle-Pop With Something on Its Mind
The Toronto/Montreal four-piece's latest on Perennial refines their jangly, R.E.M.-indebted sound into something sharper and more assured, with frontman Jeremy Gaudet's clever-yet-rambling lyricism front and center.
The Mountain Goats Turn Nostalgia Into a Weapon on 'Days'
John Darnielle and company dress up mortality in horns and major-key harmonies, name-checking Layne Staley and Charlie Sheen along the way. It's the Mountain Goats doing what the Mountain Goats do — just with better arrangements than ever.
This Is Lorelei's 'Oh No Now My' Is a Climactic, Career-Best Hook Machine
Nate Amos signs to Matador and immediately writes one of the biggest hooks of his career. A pounding, primitive drum part turns a classic chord cycle into something that feels enormous.
venturing's 'Nowhere' EP Is Jane Remover's Most Devastatingly Catchy Detour Yet
Jane Remover's rock-band alias venturing trades hyperpop chaos for big hooks and bigger feelings on a three-song EP for deadAir. Retro-futurist heartbreak rock that earns every second.
Jack White's 'Frozen Charlotte' is a Guitar-Slinging Masterpiece of Pure Showmanship
White puts the guitar back at the absolute center of the mix and lets it do most of the talking. Fuzzy, amp-incinerating, and having more fun than he's had in years.
IAN SWEET's 'Shiverstruck' Is Jilian Medford's Most Confident Record Yet
Jilian Medford's fourth IAN SWEET album trades studio experimentation for analog warmth and her most unguarded vocals yet, produced alongside Ben H. Allen. Northern Transmissions called it her 'most confident, whole album to date.'
The Black Drumset's 'Friends In Dark Places' Is Seven Years of Bedroom Psychedelia Paying Off
Austin solo artist Brian Wiley spent seven years building this seven-track self-released psych odyssey of droning keyboards, mesmerizingly monotone vocals, and existential reassurance. Bandcamp Daily made it an Album of the Day pick and called Wiley a composer who 'welcomes all to join him for the ride.'
Little Gold's 'Public Dog' Is a 15-Year Project Still Getting Better
Christian DeRoeck has been running Little Gold since 2009, and this Tall Texan Records release — recorded a day or two at a time over two years — is his most confident record yet, folding Dinosaur Jr. fuzz and lo-fi country twang into songs about rooting for the underdog.
Mallory Hawk's 'Chinook' Refuses to Sit Still, and That's the Whole Point
The Philly songwriter's self-released new record refuses to pick a lane — noisy indie, dance-punk, acoustic rock, and country twang all show up inside ten tracks — and somehow every turn still sounds like the same person talking to you. Stereogum made it Album of the Week.
Max Subar's 'Anything Could Be' is a Warm, Hard-Won Debut of Lakeside Folk-Rock
A Chicago studio hand who's spent years producing for Case Oats and Sleeper's Bell finally steps out front with an 11-track debut cut at a Wisconsin lake house. Newcity called it a case for hope; Merge Records signed him for it.
Swapmeet's 'Mount Zero' is a Hooks-for-Days Marvel of Alt-Rock Craft
Adelaide high school friends turned touring quartet record their debut LP at a beach house and come out sounding like Pavement, Sonic Youth, and Big Thief all at once. The Line of Best Fit gave it 8/10, Paste a B+.
Houndmouth's 'Lordy' is a Big-Hearted Triumph of Stripped-Back Songcraft
Five years away, then this: Houndmouth's fifth album trades polish for pulse. Brad Cook production, MJ Lenderman guitar, a Sam Beam duet. Naked, honest, immediate — and certified.
MAQUINA.'s 'BODY TRANSMISSION' is a White-Knuckle Rush of Kraut-Industrial Power
Lisbon trio welds krautrock, industrial, and dance music into one relentless machine on Fuzz Club. Saturated to the redline on purpose. Warehouse techno energy played with drumsticks and grit.
Parts & Labor's 'Set of All Sets' is a Glorious Overload of Noise-Pop Ambition
First album in 15 years, so they made it a 79-minute double with TWO drummers. Brooklyn noise-punk elders return sounding hungrier than bands half their age. Melody buried in beautiful wreckage.
Tracey Nelson's 'Hercules' is a Blissfully Melancholic Debut of Country-Rock Perfection
A debut that started life as a CD-R and grew into one of the year's warmest country-rock records. Produced by MJ Lenderman and Colin Miller, with half the Asheville scene pitching in. For the sad guys and gals — Paste's words, and ours.
Styrofoam Winos' 'Any River' is a Warm, Shapeshifting Wonder of Slacker Indie Rock
Three Nashville songwriters swap instruments and pass the mic, and the whole thing floats by on humble optimism. Talkbox, pedal steel, marimba, and jokes. Downbeat, generous, quietly brilliant.
Olivia Rodrigo Goes New Wave and Sticks the Landing on 'you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love'
The best pure-melody writer of her generation borrows new wave's nervous energy and post-punk's angles, and somehow gets MORE herself. Confidence looks good on heartbreak.
Death Cab for Cutie Find Blunt Force and Seductive Darkness on 'I Built You a Tower'
Recorded in a rapid three-week sprint, this is the leanest, darkest Death Cab in years — synth-streaked, urgent, and emotionally unguarded in a way legacy bands rarely risk.
Elder Blast Off Into the Void with Through Zero
Long-form riff odysseys built on a cosmic scale. Elder stack progressive rock, heavy psych, and stoner heft into towering movements that reward every minute you give them.
Ratboys Find the Beauty Inside Grief on Singin' To An Empty Chair
Fuzzed-out rock, tender folk, and gloriously indulgent jams, all refined into one cohesive statement. Julia Steiner explores living inside grief rather than transcending it, and the honesty is stunning.
Dry Cleaning Find the Profound in the Peculiar on Secret Love
Florence Shaw's interior monologues have never been more compelling, and the band's arrangements have never been more intricate. Cryptic, poignant, and quietly devastating. A secret worth sharing.
Friko Earn Every Explosion on 'Something Worth Waiting For'
Strangled major chords one second, full noise-rock walls the next. Friko's dynamics are a rollercoaster with the safety bar removed, and the chamber-pop melodrama makes every drop hit harder.
Mandy, Indiana Turn Up the Grit on 'URGH'
Album two doubles down on the industrial grit with arrangements that keep escalating past where you think the ceiling is. 'Magazine' alone is worth the price of admission.
Alter Bridge Plant a Flag on Their Own Name
Two decades in, Alter Bridge self-title an album and back it up with riffs the size of freight elevators and vocals that clear the rafters. This is veteran confidence pressed to wax.