The summer ends. Dance pop and hip hop clear the floor. They’ll be back soon enough, but for a brief interlude, rock and roll gets a window. Metaphors aside, there was a lot of new rock released this week. And I was vaguely disappointed.
With new singles from critical favs like Turnstile and Alabama Shakes, as well as juggernauts like Train and Queens of the Stone Age, we should be rocking to new tunes all weekend. None of it was exactly bad. But none of it, well, here’s an example…
Turnstile released a new version of their 2025 album Never Enough. It reimagines the 14 tracks with new collaborators. You might think that pairing the hottest hardcore act we have going now with Elton John on “Seein’ Stars” would yield something special. And Elton’s piano and pretty strong vocals do add an element.
Your six best rock singles out this week
The problem is that the original remains better. The Elton version is worth a listen, but not much more than that.
On the plus side, with so much music out this week, there is bound to be some really good stuff.
“Everything at Once” by Dinosaur, Jr.
I’ll start with the old guys. Dinosaur Jr. helped define late ‘80s hardcore and then, as they grew more melodic, post-hardcore. And then all three members of the band decided they wanted to kill each other, and Dinosaur went extinct.
But they made up and came back twenty years ago. Their new album, There Near, continues an improbable run as guitarist J Mascis continues to coexist with bass player Lou Barlow and drummer Murph. “Everything at Once” is not the best song on There Near, but the surprisingly sweet ballad fits in the song cycle beautifully.
A long time ago, Mascis learned how to sing sweet, melodic rock while keeping his guitar wild and fuzzy to create a kind of tortured beauty, which you get in full on the new single.
“Bite My Tongue” by the Warning
J Mascis is 60. The three sisters that make up the Warning have a combined age that surpasses his by about a decade. But they have been around for a long, long time. You may have seen them when the oldest sister, Dany, was 14 and blasting out “Enter Sandman” in a viral video.
More than a decade later, they have evolved into a strong power trio. Their new album, Everything’s Falling, is their best yet.
“Bite My Tongue” has a great slow build verse into an anthemic chorus. They clearly like 90’s alt rock but add enough modern touches to make the sound very fresh. Here’s one indication of how much I like this track. The Linda Lindas have a new track out this week, and the Linda Lindas are one of my favorite young bands. I skipped over them in favor of this Warning track.
“Wings of Fire” by Interpol
I think the Cure might be having a moment right about now. I seem to be hearing a lot of Cure influence in the new rockers that are coming out. That Linda Lindas’ song I just referenced is one example, and maybe it will take me a while to get used to it.
There’s no need to get used to it when it comes from Interpol. You’ve been able to hear that influence on and off for more than two decades. “Wings of Fire” is one of the clearest throwbacks to the ‘80s and the darker older cousin of jangly Britpop. I have no idea what this song means, but I do like that groove.
“Just a Kid” by Sara Bareilles
I think this might be my favorite song of the week. Not being a big Sara Bareilles fan, I find this curious. Maybe even a sign of growth. Maybe not.
Her new album is called Good Grief, and this song is a perfect example of that concept. It is a tribute to her longtime friend and manager Chad Joseph, and though it starts in a somber mood and does not shy away from the pain of his death in 2020, it grows into an upbeat song of triumph, based on the realization that the people who leave us really are never gone. It is that rare bird – a happy tearjerker.
“Barbarian’s Blood” by Mastodon
Keeping on the theme of tributing those who have died … but in a slightly different vein. Mastodon’s new album, Marrow Deep, had the ghost of Brent Hinds hovering above it. The band had parted ways with their guitar player under disputed circumstances in 2025, and then Hinds died in a motorcycle accident a few months later.
“Barbarian’s Blood,” the lead track from Marrow Deep, is a bruiser, aided by Converge’s Ben Koller helping out on drums. It manages a jagged-but-melodic throughline while maintaining proper metal potency.
“serena joy” by Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo has stood out from her young, hyper-successful female pop star peers from her very first album. Though she can crank out pop and dance tunes seemingly at will, she rocks with a much harder edge. She also puts her social consciousness to the best practical use.
Her newest single, which is not part of her third album, was released earlier this year and will support her Daisy Chain Fields Festival. You can read about that festival here. It is worth checking out.
For now, I’ll just say that the song, whose title character is the protagonist of the dystopian The Handmaid’s Tale, is another excellent pop rocker created by Rodrigo and her producer Daniel Nigro, built on an unstoppable bass throb and the singer’s defiant chorus.
If none of that appeals, there's some new Train out too, and their early fans tell me it is a great throwback to what the band once was -- jamming out to San Fran psychedelia -- before they were seduced by a soul sister. Not my thing, but a thing nonetheless.
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