10 New Releases That Made 2025 Rock

By Joanie Cox Henry

1. Fernando Santomaggio – Möbius Dick

South Florida's Funkmaster Fernando Santomaggio has been a staple on South Florida's live music scene for more than two decades but it wasn't until this year that he finally shared some of his original tracks with the world. Möbius Dick was definitely worth the wait. Packed with meaningful tracks such as "Love Isn't Real," which offers flavors of Queensrÿche meets The Darkness, and funk-fueled pleasure rides such as "Muthafuggah," Santomaggio gives us umlaut to appreciate! His music is available on https://fernandosantomaggio.com as well as Spotify, iHeartRadio and other major streaming platforms. You can catch him live on stage in 2026 on bass and vocals for the epic 80s cover band, MixTape FM and with Big Rock Band, which is another dynamite South Florida band covering 70's 80's 90's and beyond with classic rock and funk tunes.

2. Spinal Tap – The End Continues (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) They turned it up to 11 again, and somehow the joke's gotten sharper with age. This soundtrack proves that satire ages like fine wine while sincerity curdles into cheese that Nigel Tufnel is apparently selling now! Long live rock's greatest mockumentary legends and its late, great brilliant creator Rob Reiner who shined as the greatest rock doc creator Marty DiBergi. With guest appearances on the soundtrack by Sir Paul MacCartney and Sir Elton John, it really does offer "The Majesty of Rock" in a royally delicious package. While it's beyond devastating that Reiner and his wife are tragically gone, I feel they would want people to appreciate this soundtrack and the Spinal Tap legacy even more now.

3. Larkin Poe – Bloom

The Lovell sisters cultivate their richest harvest yet. Its bluesy roots tangled with modern grit, all watered with slide guitar that could make the desert weep. Bloom is proof that Southern rock still has stories to tell and riffs to burn. "Mockingbird" opens with a snarl, its slide guitar slicing through like a challenge thrown down at the crossroads. "Crazy" strips things back to solid vocals and sparse instrumentation, proving the sisters don't need volume to command attention. "Easy Love, Pt. 1" is a guilty pleasure track on this album with feel good riffs and autobiographical lyrics.

4. JD Danner – "Unbroken" (Single) This lone single hits you in the heart yet it's wrapped in velvet. JD Danner channels Melissa Etheridge's raw ache and Joan Jett's determination with the tenderness of Janis Ian and whips it into an anthem about not giving up that sounds both classic and completely now. If this is the appetizer, 2026's full-length is going to be a feast. Danner said she could be releasing new tunes as early as January of 2026 so check out jddanner.com or catch her popular podcast The Rainbow Remix with her London-based co-host Denise Warner here.

5. Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Mother Monster torches the rulebook and dances in the ashes. Mayhem lives up to its name—a glorious, chaotic sprint through pop's darkest alleys and brightest spotlights, reminding us why Gaga remains untouchable when she's fully unleashed. From industrial thrash to aching ballads, she shapeshifts with reckless precision, each track a middle finger to anyone who thought she'd mellowed.

6. Taylor Swift – The Life of A Showgirl Swift trades confessional diary entries for theatrical grandeur, exploring fame's funhouse mirror with Vegas sparkle and surprising darkness. It's her most conceptual work yet, and proof she's still rewriting the rules of what a pop empire can sound like. "Curtain Call" opens with a haunting music box melody before exploding into a synth-drenched meditation on performance and identity, while "Neon Prayers" finds her voice cracking with vulnerability against a backdrop of slot machine percussion. The album's centerpiece, "Standing Ovation," is a seven-minute epic that traces her evolution from country starlet to pop titan, complete with key changes that feel like costume changes. "Last Dance at the Mirage" closes the show with devastating grace, stripping away the sequins to reveal the exhaustion beneath the spotlight.

7. Matt Berry – Heard Noises

The Toast of London himself delivers psychedelic lounge music from a parallel dimension where prog rock married Serge Gainsbourg in a haunted cabaret. Berry's baritone croon shouldn't work this well over Mellotrons and vintage synths, but that's precisely why it does. The title track layers his vocals into a one-man choir of cosmic proportions, while "Why On Fire?" sounds like he recorded it in a smoking jacket made of kaleidoscopes. By the time "Sky High" fades out, you'll wonder why every album isn't made by comedic geniuses with impeccable taste in '70s gear. We can hear you Clem Fandango and Heard Noises is the gift that keeps on giving.

8. Jordan Sherman – Sherakai

Jordan Sherman constructs sonic architecture that feels ancient and futuristic simultaneously. Sherakai is a meditation disguised as an album. It's immersive, hypnotic, and rewards every repeated listen with hidden frequencies your soul didn't know it needed. "Penny Thoughts" is a delightfully carefree song that liberates the listener to a magical place while "New" offer curiously fresh syncopated melodies and tasty tones.

9. Noorwave – Min Wei?

Noorwave sets your soul on a magic carpet flight with genre-defying soundscapes that refuse categorization, blending cultural textures into something that sounds futuristic and fresh while bubbling with a richness and a wisdom only an ancient treasure could harbor. Offering tantalizing lyrics in Arabic, French and English, this music is primal, bold and poetic. Dive into Noorwave and let the rhythms carry you to a place of intrigue, mystery and intense beauty. Every track takes you deeper. "404 Habibi Not Found" offers an irresistible dance groove while "Merci Mossad" delivers a powerful trance track vibe.

10. The Darkness – Dreams On Toast Britain's spandex-clad saviors serve up exactly what you'd expect with classic riffs, falsetto acrobatics, and zero shame. Dreams On Toast is comfort food for anyone who believes rock and roll should be fun, not taken too seriously and served at a maximum volume and fun factor. This album is perfect for listening to in the car while cruising down the coast.