MR. MUSIC

In the fluorescent haze of 2025’s rock scene, where algorithms devour authenticity faster than a mosh pit clears space, Chevelle‘s tenth studio album, Bright as Blasphemy, arrives like a Molotov cocktail hurled into a strip-mall confessional. Released August 15 via the indie haven of Alchemy Recordings, this nine-track salvo—self-produced by brothers Pete (vocals/guitar) and Sam Loeffler—marks their first effort since 2021’s N.I.R.A.T.I.A.S. and their post-Epic liberation. Clocking in at a taut 35 minutes, it’s a blistering reminder that these Chicago suburbs survivors don’t chase trends; they incinerate them. At 30 years in, Chevelle channels the same spiritual unease that fueled Wonder What’s Next, but now laced with digital-age venom—think Tool‘s labyrinthine introspection colliding with Breaking Benjamin‘s radio-ready hooks, all marinated in existential dread.

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In the gritty underbelly of modern rock, where nostalgia often masquerades as innovation, Boulder trio The Velveteers carve out a savage niche with their sophomore album, A Million Knives.

Released on Valentine’s Day 2025 via Easy Eye Sound, this 12-track beast clocks in at a taut 43 minutes, channeling the raw fury of ’70s glam-punk and garage revivalism into something fiercer than their 2021 debut, Nightmare Daydream. Frontwoman Demi Demitro, flanked by guitar duties and dual drummers that thunder like an approaching storm, delivers a record born from road-weary vulnerability—one that stabs at personal injustice and emotional rawness with unapologetic precision.

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It Bites’ third studio album, Eat Me in St. Louis (1989), stands as a defiant pivot for the British prog-pop quartet, trading their earlier whimsical complexities for a raw, riff-driven hard rock edge. Fronted by the enigmatic Francis Dunnery on vocals and guitar, with Bob Dalton on drums, John Beck on keys, and Dick Nolan on bass, this was the original lineup’s final bow before Dunnery‘s departure. Produced by Mack (of Queen fame), the record crackles with urgency, clocking in at 11 tracks that blend blistering guitars, soaring melodies, and a darker lyrical undercurrent—far from the playful prog of The Big Lad in the Windmill (1986) or Once Around the World (1988).

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Lola Young‘s third studio album, I’m Only F**king Myself, set for release on September 19, 2025, via Island Records, is a 13-track collection that shifts focus from romantic entanglements to internal battles, as Young herself described it as centering on “personal struggle” with “real bangers” throughout.

The album blends gritty alt-pop with soulful R&B edges, production that amplifies her raspy, emotive vocals against punchy beats and sparse instrumentals. Opening with the introspective interlude “how long will it take to walk a mile? (interlude)”, it sets a contemplative tone before exploding into “F**K EVERYONE,” an anthem laced with defiant lyrics about embracing fluidity.

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Faetooth‘s sophomore album, Labyrinthine, released on September 5, 2025, via The Flenser, marks a mesmerizing evolution for the Los Angeles-based trio—Ari May on vocals and guitar, Jenna Garcia on bass, and Rah Kanan on drums. Formed in 2019, the band self-describes their sound as “fairy doom,” a haunting fusion of doomgaze, atmospheric sludge metal, and shoegaze-tinged heaviness that conjures ethereal forests and supernatural gloom.

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