Smells Like Alt Rock

 We are part way through another year full of fantastic music. And while we love spinning up a single here and there, it's good to do some album listening too.  We'll start with our favorites so far in 2026, then touch on the albums we know we need to spend more time listening too, and we'll wrap with upcoming albums we are pumped for: Favorites in Retrospect: (with a sample of each) Lansdowne - Wish You Well Silversun Pickups - Tenterhooks The Format - Boycott Heaven Black Stone Cherry - Celebrate Tigers Jaw - Lost On You Sevendust - One The Maine - Joy Next Door Sly Withers - Make My Mind Up Deer Fang - Forest For The Trees Shinedown - Ei8ht Death Cab for Cutie - I Built A Tower Switchfoot - Forever Now Yonaka - Until You're Satisfied The Menzingers - Everything I Ever Saw The Pretty Reckless - Dear God What We Need To Spend More Time With: Eva Under Fire Des Rocs - To Hell and Back Evanescence - Sanctuary Foo Fighters - Your Favorite Toy Metric - Romanticize the Dive...

I'll admit we do a lot music streaming, mostly one song at a time building up our monthly playlists - always on the look out for that new song. That doesn't always lend itself well to listening to full albums. We keep eye out for trends - like we went on a streak of adding Lansdowne each month and it became clear we were gonna need to check out Wish You Well went it was released (and it did not disappoint).  So here's a list of our favorite albums of 2026 so far (with links so you can listen in): Silversun Pickups - Tenterhooks Lansdowne - Wish You Well YONAKA - Until Your Satisfied Tiger's Jaw - Lost on You Collective Soul - Touch and Go The Maine - Joy Next Door Voila - Last Laugh The Format - Boycott Heaven Sly Withers - To Be Honest Sevendust - One Foo Fighters - Your Favorite Toy Metric - Romanticize the Drive And here are some upcoming albums we can't wait to spin: Shinedown - Ei8ht - 5/29 Evanescence - Sanctuary - 6/5 Des Rocs - To Hell and Back - 6/12 Deer...

Earlier this year, we posted some of the albums to look forward to in January and February , as winter hopefully releases its icy grip on Wisconsin this.month - and as we're all looking forward to a little more sunshine, we wanted to highlight some new albums dropping this spring.   Take each album for a test drive with the videos posted below. Whether you are looking for something a little lighters like Bermuda Search Party or you are looking for some new bangers from Lansdowne and Sevendust - the albums coming have you covered.   Bermuda Search Party - SIDETRACK'D - March 6 (Better Love featured below) The Fray - A Light That Waits - March 13 (Songs I'd Rather Not Sing featured below) Snail Mail - Ricochet - March 27 (Dead End featured below) Lansdowne - Wish You Well - March 27 (Release Me featured below) Metric - Romanticize the Dive - April 24 (Victim of Luck featured below) Noah Kahan - The Great Divide - April 24 (The Great Divide featured below) The Black Ke...

If you’re nostalgic like me, (and if you’ve found Smells Like Alt Rock , you probably are) then you might look back on the grunge, post‑grunge, pop‑punk, and emo days as the true peak of alternative rock. The trouble is, tuning into today’s airwaves often leaves you flipping between classic rock, mainstream alternative, and modern rock stations, feeling never quite satisfied. But here’s the good news: many of the bands you grew up with are still making music, and 2025 brought a wave of new albums worth your time. I didn’t spin every release this year, but these are the ones I listened to enough to confidently recommend. Think of them as the soundtrack to your teenage drives or your college move‑in days — updated for right now.  (Links jump to albums on YouTube)  All Time Low - Everyone's Talking The Black Keys -  No Rain, No Flowers Buckcherry - Roar Like Thunder Bush -   I Beat Loneliness CheVelle -  Bright as Blasphemy Garbage - Let All That We Imagine Be Th...

Before Spotify playlists, movie soundtracks were the way a generation found their own music. Picking up the right movie soundtrack was a great way to get exposure to your next favorite band or in my case, my all time favorite band. The music videos that went along with these soundtracks cross pollinated the music with cameos from the Hollywood blockbusters, effectively advertising on MTV and VH1 all day long.  Some of the top soundtracks of the era include: American Pie (1999) featuring: Third Eye Blind, Tonic, Blink 182, Sugar Ray, Dishwalla, and Goldfinger City of Angels (1998) featuring: U2, Alanis Morissette, and the Goo Goo Dolls Clueless (1995) featuring: Counting Crows, Luscious Jackson, Radiohead, Beastie Boys, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Cruel Intentions (1999) featuring: Blur, The Verve, Counting Crows, Placebo, Marcy Playground, and Fatboy Slim Godzilla The Album (1998) featuring: The Wallflowers, Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, Fuel, Foo Fighters, Days of the N...

I first stumbled across Armor for Sleep back in 2007 on the Transformers soundtrack with their track End of the World . That was my gateway into their sound — moody, melodic, and unmistakably alt‑rock. Fast forward 17 years: in fall 2024, their single What a Beautiful World landed on Spotify’s All New Rock playlist. Ben Jorgensen’s distinct vocals and the band’s signature atmosphere stopped me in my tracks. I knew I recognized it, but couldn’t place where. A couple of listens later, I was sure — this had to be one of the bands from the Transformers soundtrack. A quick check of the CD confirmed it: Armor for Sleep, back again.  What a Beautiful World made our Something Like Alt Rock Best of October 2024 playlist.  And now, in 2025, they’ve dropped a full album: There Is No Memory . Somehow it slipped past my “Upcoming Releases” on Spotify, so waking up to find it waiting in my Release Radar felt like a gift. I skipped the playlist entirely and dove straight into the record...

2025 isn’t over yet, and some of the bands we’ve been following through their singles still have albums left to drop. Here’s a quick look at what’s left to come in November: Citizen Soldier – Family Heirlooms (Nov 12) A good chunk of this album is already available to stream—we’ve been listening to “Inner Critic” and “Sit in Your Shadows.” Soulful, powerful vocals meet introspective lyrics that tackle tough mental health topics in a way that feels more approachable through music. We’re looking forward to hearing what else Citizen Soldier has to say when the full album drops. Finger Eleven – Last Night On Earth (Nov 12) Best known for hits like “Paralyzer” and “One Thing” (both fixtures on the Alt Rock Rewind playlist), Finger Eleven has released three singles from their upcoming album. We especially enjoyed the title track—it’s a slow jam that echoes the vibe of “One Thing.” The chorus, “Nothing’s right when all you say is nothing’s wrong,” hits hard and will resonate with anyone w...

* Special guest review, by my oldest - who is a big time Taylor Acorn fan.* Hi! Today we’re excited to highlight another standout release from last week—Taylor Acorn’s  Poster Child ! This marks her second album and her first under a record label, Fearless Records. With this new album, she’s delivered a fresh wave of pop punk energy that’s both nostalgic and bold. I first discovered Taylor through “Final Nail” (featuring Charlotte Sands) from  Survival in Motion (Deluxe) , and quickly fell in love with tracks like “Applause,” “Hell of a Show,” and “Homebody.”  Poster Child  builds on that foundation with even more emotional depth and impeccable lyricism. The album kicks off with a bang. “People Pleaser” and “Crashing Out” are high-energy anthems that make you want to dance, jump, and let loose. “Hangman” is where Taylor’s lyrical brilliance really starts to shine—filled with metaphors about letters, threads, guessing games, and neck pain, it cleverly plays on the chi...

Armaheaven  by Smash Into Pieces dropped this week, and it’s simply smashing. The "Maze of Fools" single put the Swedish group on our radar, and we have been waiting a full year for the album’s release. Over the past year, the band released a slew of singles. The only ones that didn't make the final cut were their covers of "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw and Linkin Park’s “In the End.” Not including “Heroes” feels like a miss—not just because it’s excellent, but because thematically, it would’ve fit right in. The second track, “Villain,” arrived with a music video alongside the album launch. Given the popularity of tracks like “Heroes” and “Heroes Are Calling,” the title stood out as a striking juxtaposition. After a few listens, “Villain” reminded me of another recent favorite: “Ready Fuels” by Anberlin. While the bands styles are different - these songs have similar emotional intensity and themes. “NeoFuture” felt like an odd choice for an opener at first—falling...