Many say that rock music is dead or is not as good as it used to be. This is not the case! There are still many great new bands in the genre. I will be highlighting three bands that I think are very important to the future of the genre. 

Starting with Fontaines D.C., it is an Irish Indie rock/alternative rock band that is inspired by bands such as The Beatles, The Cure, and The Smashing Pumpkins. It has received a little more attention than the other bands that will be featured on the list, but deservedly so; its two biggest songs, “Starburster” (2024) and “I Love You” (2022), are amazing alternative rock songs, but nothing too crazy, just good, catchy rock songs. Its most recent album, Romance, was released in August 2024. It already has four albums since 2019, with likely many more to come. 

The next band is the shoegaze/alternative metal band Fleshwater. Despite being well received, I was not a big fan of Fleshwater’s debut album, We’re Not Here to Be Loved, from 2022, but its new album, released this year, 2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky, has really changed my thoughts on the band; its heavy, aggressive sound felt more memorable on this album than its previous. If you like bands like Deftones, Linkin Park, and Evanescence, I think you will really enjoy this band. Songs like “Green Street” and “What Was Really Said” are personal favorites of mine. Fleshwater has a couple of concerts coming up, none very local though, unfortunately with the closest being in California.

The last band is the pop-punk and emo band, Sweet Pill. It only has one album, which is from back in 2022, but it does have multiple EPs, including this year’s Unraveled. It is a great band, very similar to bands like blink-182 and Modern Baseball. It has a very typical pop-punk/emo sound, but it works very well. Personal favorite songs of mine include “Starchild” (2024) and “Red String” (2022).