These LITM Rock Picks are everything from rough and fiery to heartfelt and smooth; featuring artists like Asthma Kids, Barrelly Ego, Strutter, and more!
1. Asthma Kids – Crumbs and Morsels (The Meek Are Getting Ready Pt IV)
Opening with fiery drums and guitars that storm in without any hesitation, Crumbs and Morsels (The Meek Are Getting Ready Pt IV) is raw and restless, walking the line of being aggressive without going outright into anger. The production leans into being jagged and rough – it’s meant to scratch on the way down, all its elements grinding against each other while still sounding cohesive. Its delivery is sharp, confrontational – its tension simmers under the surface, threatening to snap at any point. Asthma Kids creates an atmosphere of release, channelling frustration into something volatile and tangible, that lands where it hurts.
2. Barrelly Ego – 3rd Rock
3rd Rock is intriguing in the way few songs manage: it moves in a bendy, almost skewed way that worms its way into your head and sits there, swirling around. Exploring themes of parenthood with emotional honesty, it dives straight into the daily ups and downs of parenting – the questioning of whether what you’re doing is right, whether it’s even enough. Its simultaneously brave and vulnerable delivery is only accentuated by the haze through which it lands. It’s a compelling indie-rock track, with its blend of heartfelt delivery and bright instrumentals making it a standout experience for anyone, whether parents or not.
3. Strutter – Modern Life
From its outset, Strutter’s Modern Life… well, struts. It moves with confidence and swagger, knowing that it doesn’t need high-energy delivery or an uptempo rhythm to captivate you. From its cool vocals to the chill guitar that cuts through the almost jazzy drums, it’s self-assured and stands tall without needing to go into the territory of excesses to draw attention. It’s all grounded and intentional, but at the same time, feels spontaneous, like a live jam session that’s resulted in something smooth; rather than allowing any one element to dominate the song, Strutter ensures they all ride the slow wave together, creating a sound that’s cohesive, whole, and quietly infectious!
4. Lloyd. – Mania
Mania by Lloyd. is a bright, distorted track that thrums with repressed energy. Layered synths and reverberation give it a sense of motion, restlessness, and urgency simmering beneath the surface, creating a tension that builds through its short but impactful runtime of just over a minute. Lloyd.’s vocal delivery is breathy and whispered, like it’s hiding behind the fuzzy backing. It isn’t the mania we’re used to thinking of – the loud, aggressive, in-your-face kind: it’s quiet and calm, almost eerily so, and this is what elicits the slight nervous energy that comes from listening to it. Give it a listen here!
5. Crá Croí – Fires at Dawn
Crá Croí’s Fires at Dawn is a haunting, cinematic track that occupies the space between night and day, fighting and survival. Its mood is clear from the onset – cold, despairing, corrosive. Love, cynicism, dread, hope, apathy: all collapse onto each other throughout. Crá Croí engineers this collapse with masterful precision, draining the warmth from each element like an unfeeling puppetmaster. It isn’t just despondent, it’s defiant in equal measure. “We’re the poets of the chaos, writing tales of the dead,” they sing, finding the beauty in this societal disintegration, invoking those who survive it to come find them. Listen here.
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