rock – Mr. Music

God Shuffled His Feet by Crash Test Dummies

Crash Test Dummies‘ 1993 sophomore album, God Shuffled His Feet, remains a quirky gem in the alternative rock landscape, blending philosophical musings with folk-infused melodies and Brad Roberts‘ unmistakable baritone voice. Following their debut, the Canadian band catapulted to fame with this release, largely thanks to the inescapable hit “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” a humming enigma about childhood traumas that topped charts worldwide. The title track opens with a spoken-word intro pondering divine creation, setting a tone of existential whimsy that permeates the record.

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Peak Experience by Sydney Sprague

Phoenix-based indie rocker Sydney Sprague has always worn her heart like armor—raw, witty, and unyieldingly honest. Her third album, Peak Experience (self-released, September 26, 2025), distills that ethos into eight tracks of stripped-back vulnerability, marking her first independent full-length after parting with Rude Records. It’s a hushed reckoning with anxiety, obsession, and the elusive highs of existence, born from home-studio sessions amid relentless touring and personal reinvention. If her prior works—2021’s apocalyptic maybe i will see you at the end of the world and 2023’s sardonic somebody in hell loves you—were defiant anthems, this is a quieter unraveling: tender odes to spiraling thoughts, where pop-punk edges soften into folk-tinged introspection.

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Rumble&Roar by Paralyed

In the hazy crossroads of ’70s heavy blues and modern stoner grit, Germany’s Paralyzed bellow back with Rumble&Roar, their third full-length and Ripple Music debut. Released on May 9, 2025, this nine-track beast clocks in at just over 41 minutes, but it hits like a freight train derailed in a dust storm. Formed in Bamberg in 2019, the quartet—Michael Binder on vocals and lead guitar, Caterina Böhner on organ and rhythm guitar, Philipp Engelbrecht on bass, and Florian Thiele on drums—channels the ghosts of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and The Doors into something raw, infectious, and unapologetically alive.

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Big Dog by Bria Salmena

Bria Salmena‘s debut solo album, Big Dog, released on March 28, 2025, via Sub Pop and Royal Mountain Records, marks a ferocious entry into her individual artistry.

Best known as the frontwoman of Toronto post-punk band FRIGS and for collaborations with Orville Peck, Salmena channels years of personal upheaval—including the pandemic—into a 13-track chronicle of transformation and resilience. The title, inspired by finding inner strength and support from loved ones, sets the tone for an album that’s raw, unpredictable, and deeply intimate.

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Rock in a Hard Place by Aerosmith

Released on August 1, 1982, Rock in a Hard Place marks a pivotal yet precarious chapter in Aerosmith‘s storied career. As the band’s seventh studio album, it arrived amid chaos: lead guitarist Joe Perry had departed in 1979 following onstage tensions, and rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford followed suit during recording.

Replacements Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay stepped in, with Crespo handling most guitar duties under producer Jack Douglas. Frontman Steven Tyler, grappling with severe drug addiction, struggled through sessions that ballooned to a $1.5 million cost. This backdrop of instability permeates the album, making it Aerosmith‘s only release without their classic lineup.

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