Rocket: R Is For Rocket [Album Review]

Rocket
R Is For Rocket
Transgressive Records/Canvasback Music [2025]

“Rocket’s debut fires on walls of guitars and raw emotion.”

Album Overview: Rocket formed in Los Angeles in 2021, but the friendships behind the band stretch back to childhood. Alithea Tuttle (vocals, bass), Baron Rinzler (guitar), Cooper Ladomade (drums), and Desi Scaglione (guitar) started out jamming in a shed before things got serious. Their Versions of You EP (2023) earned critical buzz as they hit the road hard, testing songs night after night before stepping into the studio. R is for Rocket is their full-length debut, built around themes of connection—friends, partners, family, and self-identity—delivered through expansive, guitar-driven songs. It’s the sound of a young band coming off relentless touring, sharpened and ready, pairing raw ferocity with moments of reflection.

Musical Style: R is for Rocket wears its ‘90s influences proudly, drawing on distortion-heavy guitar bands while sneaking in melodic hooks that keep things from feeling like pure nostalgia. It’s noisy and layered but still song-focused, a wall of sound that lands somewhere between underground grit and festival-ready rock. Retro in texture, modern in execution.

Evolution of Sound: Compared to Versions of You, this record stretches further. Touring forced Rocket to refine their arrangements, even leading them to re-record some tracks once they realized how much more power they could pull from them. Recorded at Highland Park’s 64 Sound and Foo Fighters’ Studio 606, the album balances delicate tones with pounding percussion. The result is a set that shows growth in songwriting and production without sanding off the band’s raw edges.

Artists with Similar Fire: Rocket’s sound falls in the lineage of Veruca Salt, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine, while also sitting comfortably next to modern peers like Momma, Hotline TNT, Bar Italia, and Julie. There’s also a throughline to shoegaze greats like Ride and the alt-radio pull of Silversun Pickups—classic touchstones filtered through a 2020s underground lens.

Pivotal Tracks: “Wide Awake” is the obvious entry point: a fuzzed-out, catchy blast that spins its chaos into melody. “Crossing Fingers” shows how Rocket can balance heaviness with accessibility, while “One Million” slows things down with harmonies and self-reflection. “Act Like Your Title” stands out with its interweaving vocals, each part pushing against the other until they lock together and drive the track home. Opener “The Choice” simmers before erupting into a guitar storm, a clear statement of intent.

Lyrical Strength: The words here circle around ties that bind and break—romance, friendship, and self-discovery. Tuttle keeps the delivery plainspoken and direct, anchoring the dense guitar wash with sincerity. No cryptic puzzles, just open lines that make the chaos around them feel grounded.

Final Groove: R is for Rocket captures a band on the rise, brimming with urgency and heart. Some tracks feel like they’re still stretching their arms out, but that looseness is part of the charm—it leaves space for growth and discovery. The towering guitar presence is the record’s backbone, surging between noise and melody, and it’s what makes their strongest moments hit hardest. The album points toward a future where Rocket sharpen their edges even more, and that sense of momentum makes this debut feel like the beginning of something exciting.

ROCKET LINKS
Website | Instagram | Bandcamp | Canvasback Music | Transgressive Records