These LITM Rock Picks come to you from artists like Mikhail Daken, 3 Year Project, Jay Kraft, and more, going beyond the regular boundaries of what rock can sound like.
1. Mikhail Daken – Marionettes
Mikhail Daken’s Marionettes is explosive in all the right ways; opening with an immersive intensity, the song then bursts into drums and guitars that draw you in effortlessly, keeping you waiting for what’s to come. Daken’s vocals then come in: raspy and breathy, they mesh perfectly with the instrumentals, giving the song cohesion through their integration with the rest of the layers. It’s cinematic, walking the line between dark and light with perfection. With an expansive sound that looks outwards as much as it does inwards, it makes it easy for you to get lost in it, wishing it’d never end.
2. 3 Year Project – Waiting
When Waiting bursts into your ears, you’re hit with a wave of bright, sweet nostalgia. With warm melodies, jangly guitars, and lively drumming, 3 Year Project’s Sam Holden delivers a song filled with emotion and defiance in the face of all possible odds. An unmistakably indie-rock feel runs like a current through the track, with lyrics like “Everything I do, you are on my mind / Love is only here when you’re by my side,” that reflect vulnerable authenticity and the longing of a relationship throughout. Its power lies in how intentional every second sounds – nothing is obscured by fancy gimmicks or unnecessary embellishments, and this clarity makes it a pleasure to listen to!
3. Jay Kraft – Even When Its Gone
Opening with haunting vocals and progressions that run through the whole track, Even When Its Gone by Jay Kraft is a tribute to those who left us too soon. “I fall to pieces on my own / I can feel the air around me weighing me down / But can’t escape,” Jay Kraft sings, a lament of loss, grief, and the subsequent loneliness that comes with such heavy feelings. With vocals and instruments subtly weaving in and out of each other the whole way, it’s deeply emotional and painful, settling heavy in your heart as it progresses, demanding to be felt by you.
4. your dearest friends – fearOfLettingGo
fearOfLettingGo is as light in sound as it is heavy in theme. It soars beautifully, even as the lyrics talk about learning to let go and move on, how scary that process can be, and how freeing it can be once you do so. “I am afraid / It sucks me in / I can’t explain why / I remain emotionless,” sing your dearest friends, opening the song, setting the stage for the emotional arc that’s due to come in the rest of the song’s runtime. It’s beautifully uplifting as it is universally relatable, and is a song that’ll stay with you for a long time.
5. Luka & the Nightbirds – Just Wanna Cry
Just Wanna Cry sounds refreshingly retro, with a sound that immediately transports you to a different time. With twangy vocals and retro-sounding backing, it’s immediately intriguing, making you want to peel back its layers to find what’s happening just below the surface; and beneath the carefree sound is a deeply vulnerable singer sharing his experiences (“Where were you when he was down? / Where were you when he was lost?”). When you listen to the song with this fresh perspective, it’s more heartbreaking than happy – it feels like this sense of covering up sadness with a façade of a happy exterior doesn’t apply just to the song, but to life as well, and this thought’ll sit with you.
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