The 20 best rock songs right now

“I do my best but I rarely am a regular guy. At least I got 364 more days to get it right.” Sadly, a very relatable post-Valentine’s Day feeling.

Throughout 2019 Lucy Dacus, plans to mark a number of big occasions with new music; “La Vie En Rose” landed on Valentine’s Day, proving you don’t need Jackson Maine in the audience to nail an Edith Piaf cover.

Big Thief are back and are signed to a big indie, having inked a deal with 4AD for their upcoming third album. “UFOF” uses fingerpicked acoustic guitars and science fiction as a vessel for romantic escape.

I don’t run, but “Camp Orchestra” makes me want to sprint a marathon.

“Capacity” is a moment of realization in which lead singer Eva Hendricks comes to the conclusion that obsessing over a romantic relationship only leads to bad things. Think of it as the indie rock “Thank U, Next,” with a killer video courtesy of recent FADER cover star Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner.

Chromatics are back to remind me I really need to finish watching Twin Peaks: The Return.

Deb Never has pushed her grunge-y sound into new territories since hooking up with Shlohmo's WEDIDIT label late last year. “In The Night” comes on like a shadowy version of The xx, or chopped ‘n’ screwed Beach House.

The spirit of the late, great Mark E. Smith lives on in “Big,” the latest single from Dublin band Fontaines DC. Lead singer Grian Chatten chanting “I’m gonna be big” manages to feel both prophetic and dripping with sarcasm.

“Pressure To Party” is written from the perspective of a newly single person trying to find their feet while the world shakes around them. Like much of Julia Jacklin’s excellent new album Crushing, the message is delivered with wit and more than a little sadness.

Foals songs broadly fall into one of the two following categories: Spiky and energetic or epic rock ballads. “Sunday” mixes things up by managing to be both at the same time, blending a stadium-sized chorus with mosh-friendly pace.

On his ninth album, Cass McCombs turns up the distortion a little on his shaggy love-letters to the classic rock greats. “Sidewalk Bop After Suicide” offers a great place to dive in.

TFW moving out of home is a pipe dream and you’ll probably never be able to retire. :S

Queen Zee are a glam-rock band with emphasis on the latter word, hailing from Liverpool, England. “Loner,” taken from their 2019 debut, includes lyrics about Depeche Mode and stale Happy Meals.

Homeshake's fourth album Helium was released earlier this month, as Peter Sagar switch his lo-fi sound for something a little more synth-based but equally chill. “Just Like My,” with its dusty drums and laid-back parps, is one to float away to.

Pup continue their streak of great videos by showing what a ton of their fans (including Stranger Things’s Finn Wolfhard) playing “Free At Last” despite having never heard it before. Turns out they were all wrong!

Jessica Pratt’s latest album Quiet Signs dropped in February, making for the perfect soundtrack to mornings where the sun is daring to peek through the clouds.

Londoners Blueprint Blue offer a richly melodic take on the lo-fi pop made by their contemporaries in the U.K. DIY scene such as Mazes and Ultimate Painting. “An-D”’s dating website for androids video, meanwhile, is a lot more complex and troubling.

The first single from Hatchie’s forthcoming debut album is a big slice of melodramatic 80’s goth pop. A keen sense of melody ensures the Sydney-based artist doesn’t get caught feeling too gloomy.

This Oakland band has Illegal Civilization’s Aramis Hudson in its video, and a dread-filled sound to match lead singer Dylan’s fuck-it-all lyrics.