Los Angeles, CA’s Rocket have released their highly anticipated debut album, R is for Rocket, their first for Transgressive Records / Canvasback. “We dedicated this record to Alithea’s dad, who passed away unexpectedly this year,” the band shared in a heartfelt statement. “Choosing him as the cover was the perfect way to immortalize him forever on our first record. This record is so special and close to our hearts and we spent years getting it to the place it is now.”
Comprised of Alithea Tuttle (vocals, bass), Baron Rinzler (Guitar), Cooper Ladomade (Drums) and Desi Scaglione (Guitar), Rocket have had a busy few years. The Los Angeles crew with friendships stretching back to their childhood formed in 2021, convening in an unmarked shed to put their debut EP to tape. Despite it being the first time any of them had seriously approached the idea of a ‘band,’ they seemed to arrive fully formed with combustible, airtight songs.
R is for Rocket, the quartet’s remarkable debut album, is a joyride through sonic terrain that is gloriously loud, anthemic, bombastic and beautiful, with instantly captivating songs that achieve the rare feat of evoking nostalgia while sounding completely new. The band’s jagged, fuzzed-out sound has antecedents in ‘90s guitar bands like Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, but Rocket are doing something uniquely their own with those touchstones. It’s no wonder they are widely considered one of the most promising guitar-forward bands of their generation.
While the album builds on the energy of their critically lauded Versions of You EP, R is for Rocket is also hugely evolutionary, elevating the band’s craft in major ways. By the time they began work on the album in early 2024, they’d been on a near constant touring schedule, spending countless hours on the road opening for their heroes Ride, Sunny Day Real Estate and Silversun Pickups, and writing in their modest studio – a back house in drummer Cooper Ladomade’s parents’ yard – both refining and expanding their sound.
The quartet have been slowly releasing their first new music since the 2023 EP this year, sharing album cuts “Crossing Fingers” & “One Million,” before formerly announcing the album in July with the head turning “Wide Awake,” which arrived alongside an in-depth Rolling Stone profile, and support from Alt Press, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, FLOOD Magazine, Consequence and many more, and was followed by the euphoric and sparkling “Act Like Your Title.” The album’s final single, “Another Second Chance,” arrived alongside an iconic music video featuring a medley of homages to Devo, Kiss, The Beatles, and Blue Man Group, and an in-depth ‘Best of What’s Next’ feature with Paste Magazine.
This Fall, Rocket will embark on their debut US headline tour, kicking off in October after having wrapped international festival appearances and a UK run supporting Smashing Pumpkins. They’ve also announced their debut headline tour of Europe kicking off in early 2026. They’ll perform a special LA show at Amoeba Hollywood next Tuesday, Oct 7th.
“All of the touring led to the songs changing for the better,” says Tuttle, “because we got to play them for so many different kinds of audiences and hear what worked and what didn’t.” Whenever they got home from a tour, they were infused with new ideas for how to finish the in-progress tunes, and many were upgraded in major ways thanks to the time Rocket took to hone them. “Recording the second half of the album eight months after the first half gave us a lot of time to think about what we were doing,” says Scaglione.
With guitarist Desi Scaglione again at the helm as their producer, Rocket logged time at two Los Angeles studios that provided the perfect balance between those extremes. They tracked the more introspective elements at 64 Sound in Highland Park, which offered an array of tasty vintage gear that was ideal for the quieter, more intimate tunes. The heavier moments were captured during sessions at the Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 in Northridge, where they could get the massive drum sound they wanted for tracks like “Crossing Fingers” and “Wide Awake.”
TOUR DATES:
2025
Oct 7th – Los Angeles, CA @ Amoeba Hollywood
Oct 27th – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
Oct 30th – Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
Oct 31st – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Indoors)
Nov 3rd – Nashville, TN @ drkmttr
Nov 4th – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
Nov 6th – Washington, DC @ DC9
Nov 7th – Philadelphia, PA @ Warehouse on Watts
Nov 8th – New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Nov 11th – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Nov 13th – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Nov 14th – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
Nov 15th – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
Nov 18th – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Nov 19th – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
Nov 21st – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Nov 22nd – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
2026
Feb 10 – Bristol, UK @ The Croft
Feb 11 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Feb 12 – Glasgow, UK @ King Tut’s
Feb 14 – Dublin, IE @ The Workmans Club
Feb 16 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
Feb 17 – London, UK @ Scala
Feb 19 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique – Witloof Bar
Feb 20 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
Feb 21 – Utrecht, NL @ EKKO
Feb 23 – Berlin, DE @ Neue Zukunft
Feb 24 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & SOHN
Feb 26 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephémère
Feb 27 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix