Welcome back my friends to the best new music you’ve never heard! I have an insatiable thirst for the best new rock, with an emphasis on the word best. If I don’t fall in love with it, you won’t hear it on a Rock Radar mixtape! Normally I’m hunting for music that’s less than a year old, but Rock Radar #2 is an exception, although the majority of tracks were released in 2021 or 2022.
Sometimes a great mixtape just wills itself into being, and I didn’t want to fight the feeling.
And that feeling ended up being some serious nostalgia for the glory days of emo and grunge. Did you know some of the best new grunge was coming from (double-checks notes) the Netherlands? Yep, and this track by Rockford will floor you. There’s also Sick Joy and Roe Kapara signaling that we’re smack in the middle of an awesome grunge revival.
The emo vibes were even stronger. As I looked at the final tracklisting, there was new stuff from The Wonder Years, Jimmy Eat World and Microwave. But there’s also standout tracks from younger bands like Games We Play and Anxious.
But to round it all out, there’s shockingly great indie rock from Dazy and Bartees Strange, swaggering blues rock from Larkin Poe, hard-hitting rock from Rival Sons and The Winery Dogs, and some catchy-as-hell ska punk from The Interrupters. And that’s not even everything!
So carve out 60 minutes, clear the room, and crank this up!
Below you’ll find everything you need to enjoy the hell out of Rock Radar Vol. 2:
🎧 Rock Radar Vol. 2: Spotify Playlists
If you want to dive right in, just press play on these Spotify playlists, but be warned you’ll only hear the full tracks if you have Spotify Premium. Because these are meant to be enjoyed as classic mixtapes, I’ve separated the playlists into Side A and Side B.
✅ Direct Downloads: Side A/B + Album Art + Tracklist
I’ve created digital mp3 files for each side of this mixtape. Each one features some light manual crossfading, and a custom EQ ideal for recording to tape. I’m going to stop offering the J-Card PDFs, just because they’re time consuming to create and not many people download them. Instead, I’ll serve up all the assets you need to make your own, if desired. Have fun!
🔗 Song.Link URLs: Side A
Everyone has their favorite service, and I want you to enjoy this collection of tracks regardless what you’re using. So here are links to stream or buy every track on a number of streaming platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Deezer, Tidal, and Amazon.
- The Interrupters: Anything was Better
- Rival Sons: Nobody Wants To Die
- Rockford: Shade
- Bartees Strange: Mulholland Dr.
- The Winery Dogs: Xanadu
- Sick Joy: Dissolve Me
- Tigercub Stop Beating on My Heart (Like a Bass Drum)
- Games We Play: I Hope You’re Happy
