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Our spotlight band this week is Rocket, an alt-rock quartet from Los Angeles that’s poised to blast onto your radar in a big way. Their sound—equal parts fuzzy alt-rock and dreamy pop—is both nostalgic and refreshingly new, and it’s about to reach a whole new level.

Rocket just announced their highly anticipated debut album, R is for Rocket, set for release on October 3rd via Transgressive Records / Canvasback. The first single, Wide Awake, is a powerful intro to the band’s evolved sound—ethereal yet gritty, and impossible to ignore. The band comments,

“R is for Rocket is about relationships, the most important part of life; relationships with your friends, your parents, your girlfriend or boyfriend, and most importantly your relationship with yourself. ‘Wide Awake’. is the perfect balance of all the elements of this record, after years in the making and countless versions, we’re excited to finally share it.”

Check out the lead single here:

Before they launch their first U.S. headlining tour this fall, Rocket will be supporting The Smashing Pumpkins across the U.K. throughout August. Then they’ll bring the energy stateside, kicking off the tour in October.

Comprised of Alithea Tuttle (vocals, bass), Baron Rinzler (Guitar), Cooper Ladomade (Drums) and Desi Scaglione (Guitar), Rocket have had a busy few years. The Los Angeles crew with friendships stretching back to their childhood formed in 2021, convening in an unmarked shed to put their debut EP to tape. Despite it being the first time any of them had seriously approached the idea of a ‘band,’ they seemed to arrive fully formed with combustible, airtight songs.

R is for Rocket, the quartet’s remarkable debut album, is a joyride through sonic terrain that is gloriously loud, anthemic, bombastic and beautiful, with instantly captivating songs that achieve the rare feat of evoking nostalgia while sounding completely new. The band’s jagged, fuzzed-out sound has antecedents in ‘90s guitar bands like Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, but Rocket are doing something uniquely their own with those touchstones. It’s no wonder they are widely considered one of the most promising guitar-forward bands of their generation.

While the album builds on the energy of their critically lauded Versions of You EP, R is for Rocket is also hugely evolutionary, elevating the band’s craft in major ways. By the time they began work on the album in early 2024, they’d been on a near constant touring schedule, spending countless hours on the road opening for their heroes Ride, Sunny Day Real Estate and Silversun Pickups, and writing in their modest studio – a back house in drummer Cooper Ladomade’s parents’ yard – both refining and expanding their sound.

We’re especially thrilled to catch them November 21st at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. If you’re looking to discover your next favorite band, don’t sleep on Rocket. This is your chance to see them up close before they’re playing much bigger stages.

TOUR DATES:

Tickets Here

EU DATES

August 8th – Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Festival

August 10th – London, UK @ Gunnersbury Park ^

August 11th – London, UK @ Windmill Brixton SOLD OUT

August 12th – Halifax, UK @ The Piece Hall ^

August 13th – Scarborough, UK @ Scarborough Open Air Theatre ^

August 14th – Colchester, UK @ Colchester Castle Park ^

August 16th – Wales, UK @ Greenman Festival

^ w/ Smashing Pumpkins

US DATES