These LITM Rock Picks cover the spectrum of rock, featuring Grumbeaux, Hoxsey, Hazey Grace, and more!
1. Grumbeaux – Now Is Near
From the cover art alone, you can tell Grumbeaux’s Now Is Near is going to surprise you by being an eclectic blend of different sounds, and it lives up to these expectations magnificently. What really stands out on this track is how dynamic it feels. As a track that’s recounting an incident and exploring how to translate memory into sound, it characterises lived experience in its arrangement: it never sounds too certain of itself, but instead occupies that uncertain, unstable space where things happen seemingly out of control. Powerful and purposeful, its strong vocals and distorted instrumentals create an atmosphere that’ll have you coming back for more!
2. Hoxsey – Skeleton Key
Skeleton Key opens Hoxsey’s latest album, Ghost We Keep, with a sense of ominous foreboding. Within seconds, the track establishes a sound that’s downright creepy, almost maniacally so – the same way clowns and overly cheery villains are. It doesn’t feel the need to ease you in, and it doesn’t hesitate to throw you into the deep end immediately. Featuring Taliba Fields, the song isn’t shy about employing as many horror-connoting sounds as it can – from theatrical, choral vocals and a gravelly, booming announcer to the circus undertones that take over towards the middle, the song is dripping in excess, and it works better than minimalism could have. Listen here!
3. Hazey Grace – Bloom
Hazey Grace’s Bloom arrives as part of the album And Again, setting an alt-rock, dreamy tone for the rest of the album to follow. Heavy, distorted guitars create the foundation for a track that explores emotional trajectories with nuance; these contrast beautifully with the vocals that stay floating and hazy, building an atmosphere that invites you to unravel it and find yourself within it. It takes its time to bloom (pardon the pun) open, with a runtime of about five minutes, but every moment is worth your patience as the song puts you into a trance you’ll come out of only unwillingly. Check it out here!
4. The Timbre Project – I Just Got Your Cable
I Just Got Your Cable opens The Timbre Project’s latest album, Bass River Sessions, with rolling drums and vocals delivered with strength and conviction. This is a song that could easily tip over into excess – with its heavy, punchy instrumentals, it’s not difficult to create a track where every second is full of energy. However, The Timbre Project understands the value of restraint and showcases that sometimes, less is indeed more. This leads to an unforced, intimate sound that doesn’t force itself upon you. Made for late-night listening, it’s an invitation to the album that doesn’t disappoint – listen here!
5. Peter Melodist – Fear
An intriguing debut single from 13-year-old artist Peter Melodist, Fear is unapologetically vulnerable. The title implies a track that focuses on apprehension and doubt, but instead, it places fear at the centre of calm confrontation as it tries to peel back the many nuanced emotions that eventually coalesce into fear. This makes the track more reflective than sinister, as it stays within the realm of musical production and refrains from becoming a grandiose concept. Overall, this is a process that is undoubtedly personal, leading to a track that’s been experimented with for the joy of doing so. Listen to it here!
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