. . . not by a long shot! July can be a dead zone for quality music, but that hasn’t been the case this year. If your taste leans toward prog (vintage or brand-new), rootsy rock or full-on funk with a skosh of country, you’re in luck this month. Listening links are embedded in the artist/title listing; purchase info follows the review where necessary.

The Bardic Depths, Some Things Are Worth Remembering: On the basis of an advance listen, I can confidently say that The Depths’ final album reaches new heights of invention and inspiration. There’s plenty of variety and energy within and between the tracks (some featuring shared musical material), an enticing mix of styles and colors united by a symphonic throughline that unfolds with natural ease. I especially dig moments such as “Fallen Leaves” and “October Sun” where the band’s instrumentation and texture nod to forbears like Genesis or Big Big Train, but also sound fresh and unique in the moment. Gareth Cole on guitars and Peter Jones on keyboards, sax and vocals have done some of their best work ever here, especially in proggier, jazzier moments; Tim Gehrt’s drum grooves are consistently solid and tight, and Dave Bandanna’s multi-talented playing and unique vocal tone pull everything together with real panache; this is an ensemble completely at ease, tuned in to each other all the way through. And as always, founding Progarchist Brad Birzer’s lyrics make their mark, poetic prose gathering strength with each repetition, sensitively and powerfully set. The finale “Rewind” stands out, juxtaposing poignant nostalgic reminiscence with a daringly different ambient coda, but every track makes its own special impression. Straight up: Some Things Are Worth Remembering is The Bardic Depths’ best album, and a 2026 Favorite for sure. Watch for The Progarchy Interview with the band coming soon! (Preorder physical media from The Band Wagon USA; order digital downloads from TBD’s Bandcamp page beginning August 7th.)

Death Cab for Cutie, I Built You a Tower: Back on an independent label after two decades in the multinational corporate world, DCfC hearkens back to the spacious musical drive and laser-like lyrical focus of their indie farewell, 2003’s Transatlanticism. But while that classic effort bemoaned the obstacles to connection, its post-rock riffs hypnotically vaunting skyward, I Built You a Tower is a compact, desperately literary song-cycle tracing love’s end, perfectly paired with melodic, hooky emo honed to a sharp, glittering point. As Ben Gibbard peels away layer after layer of his midlife crisis one figure of speech at a time, the band storms through buzzsaw guitar trip “Punching the Flowers”, goes Postal Service on the electronic “Stone Over Water” and “Trap Door”, gallops across the off-kilter landscape of “How Heavenly a State”, and bookends the whole thing with alternately chiming and raging versions of the title track. This one puts the listener through the mill emotionally; still, the catharsis at its end justifies the harrowing journey. Another new instant Favorite! (Order physical media from Death Cab’s online store.)

Marillion.com Deluxe Edition 2026: After tentative plunges into Marillion in the 80s and early 90s, this marked my first deep dive into hardcore fandom (though it took a couple more laps around the pool for said fandom to stick). After reading a positive review of marillion.com in my first-ever issue of MOJO Magazine, what did I see on the listening wall of my local Barnes and Noble back in 1999 (possibly a tribute to their cult hero status in Grand Rapids) but this? As with the previous year’s Radiation, Marillion packed their inimitable sound into tighter song forms here: “Rich” and “Deserve” have Steve Hogarth sneaking remarkably deep ethical concepts into snappy uptempo tunes; “Go” and “Enlightened” mount devastating band exercises in tension and release; the forlorn yet jangly “Tumble Down the Years” crammed the entirety of Abbey Road into one heart-melting song. And for those lamenting the move away from longer smash-cut epics, there was the extended rumination “Interior Lulu”, complete with random synth wig-out! While the path to Marillion controlling their own destiny began here, .com is much more than a stepping stone, formidably appealing in both its craft and its creativity. Both deluxe editions include the remixed main album and audio of a complete London show; the CD/BluRay version adds the concert documentary Shot in the Dark and two hours of jams, rough drafts and early mixes. (Order from Racket Records.)

The Rolling Stones, Foreign Tongues: After knocking off the creative rust with 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, the Stones genuinely sound like they’re having fun with – well, with being the Stones. Foreign Tongues is a throwback to the casually hedonistic days of Some Girls and Tattoo You: at long last, Keef and Ronnie are back in sync with that unmistakable guitar weave; meanwhile, Mick Jagger is as obnoxiously attractive as ever, swaggering persona intact, witty yet scabrous lyrics fully in place. The range is remarkable here: there’s grimy, technicolor Chicago blues (“Rough and Twisted”), super-charged rockers (“Mr. Charm”, “Divine Intervention”), simmering R&B ballads (“Some of Us”, “Back in Your Life”), well-chosen covers (Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good”, Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah”) — even the late Charlie Watts driving the punky “Hit Me in the Head” at full steam. It’s all a hoot and a half, even though producer Andrew Watt buffs up nearly every chorus with lip-gloss backing vocals, the political commentary of “Ringing Hollow” comes off a bit lame, and the whole thing goes on slightly too long. If you want the urgency of Beggars Banquet to Exile on Main Street Stones, you’re out of luck; but if you’re in the mood for Boomer demigods strutting their stuff with glee and flair that defies their longevity, this might be just your ticket. (C’mon, you can buy this everywhere.)

The War and Treaty, The Story of Michael & Tanya: Michigan-rooted Americana/soul husband-wife team Michael and Tanya Trotter have pulled all of their omnivorous, fiery talent together for their latest and best. The Story is a down to earth concept album about the arc of the Trotters’ relationship, with the duo striking sparks every time their voices trade off or harmonize, all the while covering an astonishing spectrum of down-home music and piling on high-drama bells and whistles. Given the album’s Nashville pedigree and major-label status, inevitable guest shots from Hollywood & Nashville are dropped in willy-nilly (Whoopi Goldberg? Wynonna?), but deeper delights await beneath the rhinestones; from the rich, passionate soul of “Don’t Say Goodbye” to the authentically weepy country of “Lay This Bottle Down” to the hot redemptive gospel of “Holy Ghost Fire” and “High Heels”, this one’s got it all, recorded live to tape for extra oomph. If you haven’t heard these two light it up with their vocal fireworks before, this is the perfect intro. (Buy from the Warner Music webstore.)

Jack White, Frozen Charlotte: White’s new one has a grungier, more claustrophobic vibe than 2024’s wide-open, Zeptastic No Name; although, like that surprise Favorite, it also has more devastating guitar riffs per minute than most bands of his vintage manage in their entire career. (And just the right amount of killer fuzzed-up organ, too.) “Derecho Demonico”, “You’ll Never Fix Me” “Thick as Thieves” and “She’s in a Frenzy” are the standout tracks, but every song gets right to the point, makes it, and downs tools with no fuss, White wailing like a hellhound is genuinely on his trail all the while.

— Rick Krueger