Flowerage

Axis: Sova — 2026

“Flowerage is a guitar lover’s record, where garage rock grit, progressive detours, and big choruses all find their place.”

Chicago’s Axis: Sova delivers a confident blast of classic-sounding post-punk rock on their fifth album, Flowerage, where big guitar riffs, scorching solos, and singalong hooks each get their moment in the spotlight. There is a strong Ty Segall influence running through these nine tracks, which makes sense given his production work on 2023’s Blinded by Oblivion, and that DNA carries over even with Cooper Crain behind the board this time. Brett Sova’s vocals often sit isolated and up front, while the band surrounds him with buzzing synths, thick distorted fuzz, and sudden bursts of straight-ahead classic rock guitar. I especially like how the trio shifts between these sounds without losing its momentum. The title track is a perfect example, driven by a killer riff as Sova commands attention with the line, “Like a flower needs a sun…and oxygen,” before letting the guitars do more talking. With most songs stretching beyond four minutes, Axis: Sova aren’t afraid to explore, especially on the progressive instrumental rocker “A Shadow Is Not a Home.” Then there is the final minute of “Window,” where everything just explodes into a swirling rush of rock, heavy fuzz, and spacey effects that sounds like the band is pushing its amplifiers to the breaking point. Even with all that stretching out, they never lose sight of a big chorus.

Flowerage is the sound of a band completely comfortable with its strengths while still finding new places to take them. Axis: Sova can lock into a tight post-punk groove, pull out a ’70s-style solo, or stretch into something more progressive without making any of it feel forced. The guitars are the main attraction, but the hooks make this one worth returning to.