It’s fair to say that we are currently on the cusp of a rock revival, with guitar focused music being more and more popular again. The movement is being spearheaded by the likes of: Sam Fender, Fontaines D.C and The Last Dinner Party; with all these musicians/bands releasing commercially huge albums that have also garnered critical acclaim; for example, Fontaines D.C was just nominated for 2 Grammy’s at the 2025 ceremony and Fender recently had the biggest opening week of album sales for a solo act in the U.K since 2022.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that rock is the dominant genre within the music sphere just yet, however the feeling amongst fans is definitely a lot more hopeful than five or so years ago. I believe this is largely thanks to a new wave of up and coming bands, filling modest venues around the world and bringing their music to the masses. I want to take a moment and highlight some smaller artists, who in my opinion, are absolutely worth your time and attention; They might also just be the next big names who shape the future of rock.
Rehash
Rehash is a quartet from South Florida, made up of: Renzo Valdez (Rhythm Guitar/Vocals), Sebastian Gamez (Lead Guitar/Keyboard), Ethan Lopez (Drums) and Daseth Lopez (Bass Guitar). The band was originally started as a duo featuring just Valdez and Gamez, with the addition of the Lopez siblings coming shortly after their debut, self titled album.
I find it quite hard to pigeonhole Rehash into a specific genre, given the diversity of their discography. Their tracks can range anywhere from Beatlesque songs like ‘Letting Go‘, all the way to gritty anthems like ‘Cold Food‘. The vocals from Valdez are one of Rehash’s many strengths. He has an almost Thom Yorke like quality, where his voice is delicate but powerful at the same time. This is best demonstrated in ‘Lately’, a song from their second record, where despite operating on the softer side of his vocal range for the majority of the song, Valdez manages two powerful, spine tingling performances of the chorus. This helps to completely switch up the feel of the song.
The instrumentation used is equally as varied. Overall, I would describe the band’s style to be a softer take on grunge, with less anger than bands such as Alice in Chains. They opt for a much more emotional take on the genre, kind of similar to The Smashing Pumpkins, as well as taking clear inspiration from Nirvana. This is best demonstrated in the songs ‘Here Comes the Rain‘ and ‘Back to Strangers‘, which are both songs that feature grungy rhythm sections but have more delicate guitars and vocals. On top of this, the band is able to break into much heavier almost thrashy choruses amalgamating in an original take on a classic genre. This is far from the band’s only sound, Rehash have adopted an array of different instrumentation styles; be it the piano ballad ‘Falling Out‘ or the Latino inspired ‘Laura‘.
The future is very bright for Rehash. There has been a clear improvement from their first album (which is a good record in its own right). They seem to have found a sound that works and appear to be progressing musically with every release.
Standout Songs:
- Back to Strangers
- Morning Star
- Letting Go
Been Stellar
Been Stellar are a highly talented 5 piece made up of: Sam Slocum (Vocals), Skyler Knapp (Guitar), Nico Brunstein (Bass), Nando Dale (Guitar) and Leila Wayans (Drums). Both Slocum and Knapp performed under the current band name since high school, with the addition of their bandmates coming later on. Hailing from New York, a region called home by so many music greats including: The Velvet Underground, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem and Simon and Garfunkel. Been Stellar are on track to become the next New York band to cement themselves as rock legends.
The best way to describe Been Stellar would be a wall of sound. Punchy drums and a muddy bassline are the perfect foundation for the searing lead guitar provided by Knapp. Atop this wall, the vocals of Slocum are raspy and emotional, feeling quite similar to Liam Gallagher of Oasis. This doesn’t in any way mean that Been Stellar are a one trick pony as they are also capable of creating more delicate songs, with such quality as to draw comparisons to Radiohead.
Despite being widely compared to The Strokes with their earlier work, Been Stellar have completely diversified their discography with their first studio album ‘Screams from New York‘. The album starts with two intense tracks ‘Start Again‘ and ‘Passing Judgement‘ where Wayans’ frantic drums create a feeling of breathlessness and urgency. The album progresses into more open and expansive songs, one of these being ‘Shimmer’, a song that wouldn’t sound out of place on ‘;Romance’ by Fontaines D.C., a group that Been Stellar have actually opened for in the past. The band adopts a more echoey guitar sound for the majority of the track, with Slocum opting for a calmer more delicate voice. Despite the song increasing in tempo towards the end, his vocals remain on the more measured side when compared to what we hear earlier on in the record.
Been Stellar are a band that absolutely have what it takes to make the next big step. Not only do they make great music but they were also selected as support for, their record label mates, The 1975 on their European tour, showing just how highly they are thought of within the industry.
The overall quality of Been Stellar’s debut album is so consistent that it’s hard to single out just a few standout songs. Every track offers something unique, making it a testament to the band’s talent that you’ll want to listen to them all.
Permanent (Joys)
Permanent Joys are a Liverpool based band, formed from the ashes of the promising yet ill fated project, Blondes. The band is made up of: Alex Davison (Frontman), Noah Roache (Bass Guitar), David Annis (Drums), and Dan Stroud (Guitar). There is a talented generation of young bands coming through north west of England but Permanent Joys, in my opinion, are the pick of the bunch.
It is hard to talk about Permanent Joys without mentioning Blondes; After all they share writing credits on all of their currently published music, including their EP ‘Despair Will Make Me a Modern Man‘. There seems to be a definite change in vibe between the two bands, with Blondes being a lot more upbeat and the type of music that would be the soundtrack of a summer. Permanent Joys are a lot more introspective, with lyrics a lot more scathing and the instrumentation feeling darker.
The best demonstration of this would be the final song on their EP ‘Untitled‘, which has been described by Davison as a critique on consumerism inspired by Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, ‘Fight Club‘. The song was originally meant to be an instrumental before the band had the idea to add a poem over it; The somber instrumentation provides the perfect background for Davison’s well thought out critique of modern society, focusing on the numbness we all feel whilst we push through our daily lives. His delivery deepens the song’s meaning, with lines that feel cold and empty, perfectly capturing the emotion the song aims to convey. However, during the chorus, when the tempo increases, Davison adds a lot more emotion to his voice. His delivery becomes powerful yet vulnerable, which flips the song on its head.
Stroud’s bass work is another highlight. I found it to be very punky. Completely controlling the feeling created within each of their songs. One of my favourite performances of his was in ‘Sometimes‘, where his nasally bassline contrasts with Davison’s more uplifting vocals, adding to the song’s theme of sentimentality.
It is an absolute credit to Permanent Joys that they have been able to take a step forward following the break-up of Blondes. To then do that with a completely different style is an even greater demonstration of their resilience, creative integrity and above all else, talent. They have recently announced another support gig with long time admirers Inhaler, which will be another brilliant opportunity to get their music to a wider audience.
Standout Songs:
- Josephine
- Untitled
Cameron Winter / Geese
Cameron Winter’s solo record ‘Heavy Metal‘ is an album that has received huge praise from fans and critics alike, even earning Winter a musical appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show. I’m not ashamed to say that this was my first exposure to Winter, as I had never heard anything from his band Geese prior to this. Given the album’s popularity, it’s safe to say that ‘Heavy Metal‘ will also serve as peoples gateway into his work with Geese.
Winter’s first solo endeavour came in October 2024 with the release of a 2 track project called ‘Singles‘. The 2 songs on ‘Singles‘ are a lot simpler than anything on ‘Heavy Metal‘, with Winter’s vocals being backed by only a piano or guitar respectively, for the majority of the songs. Now this by no means is a criticism of ‘Singles‘, both tracks are good, however it pales in comparison to the brilliance of ‘Heavy Metal‘.
‘Heavy Metal‘ is an album oozing with character in every second of run time. It’s a journey that really pays off. The album starts relaxed, with the gentle yet bright acoustic guitar of ‘The Rolling Stones‘, which creates an almost euphoric feeling of relaxation. In terms of happiness, the album peaks with ‘Love Takes Miles‘, the third track on the album. You can’t help but smile listening to the bubbly instrumentation, which is anchored by an upbeat, carefree piano part. This feeling comes to an abrupt halt with the next song ‘Drinking Age‘, which completely changes the vibe to melancholy. The use of the piano is completely reversed, swapping whimsical chimes for heart breaking, rolling arpeggios. This section of the album alone has enough complexity and variety to justify the many praises the album has received. However, I think his finest moment comes in ‘Try as I May‘, the main instrument in this track is a synth, which is haunting and echoey, creating a feeling of unease. Combine this with Winter’s fragile delivery and hard hitting lyrics about the fruitless attempts to save a dying love; it’s a masterpiece of a song and, in my opinion, the best on the record.
Winter’s work as the frontman of Geese is not to be overlooked. He and his bandmates: Emily Green (Guitar), Domenic DiGesu (Bass Guitar), Max Bassin (Drums) and Sam Revaz (Keyboard) have released two albums, ‘Projector‘ and ‘3D Country‘. Both of these albums are great, but much like Winter’s solo work, there seems to be a clear step up, in terms of creativity, with the second record.
To touch briefly on ‘Projector‘; It’s a lot closer to what you expect from an indie rock album when compared to ‘3D Country‘. It’s an album with clear homages to the great bands from Northeast America, major influences being the likes of Pixies and Talking Heads, making the album an easy yet enjoyable listen.
Their second record ‘3D Country‘ is where the band really found success, with their top 10 most popular songs on Spotify all coming from this album. This record feels inspired by more classic rock, with similarities to David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and, as cliché as it might be, The Beatles. This album is a step up from their first record. The songs fit together perfectly despite the mix of different genres in the album, which creates a rollercoaster type feeling. The best demonstration of this is the first two songs on the record, ‘2212‘ and the title track ‘3D Country‘. ‘2212‘ is the heaviest song on the album, with Winter’s vicious vocals sitting above a screeching guitar and thundering drums. This is in complete contrast to the next song ‘3D Country‘, where the drums are calm and Winter’s voice is brought to a near whisper.
At the moment, the future of Geese seems to be in the balance, following the sudden stardom of Cameron Winter, creating questions of his future in the band given the success of his solo album. Personally, I hope the band can stay together for at least one more record. I would love to see the next step in their evolution, especially with all the eyes that will be on them in light of Winter’s blow up.
Standout Songs:
- Try as I May (Cameron winter)
- Love Takes Miles (Cameron Winter)
- Tomorrows crusades (Geese)
- Cowboy Nudes (Geese)
In my opinion, whether rock is back or not doesn’t matter. The main thing that we all want as music fans is to have artists that we like and can get behind. Commercial success has nothing to do with it. Whilst I would love to see any one of these artists headlining a major festival, that would merely be a bonus if it means they are still making new, fresh music. All we want to see is artists being creative and pushing boundaries, regardless of whether it gets them to the top of the charts or not.
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