@Jada Hicks

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

This Kentucky quartet bring barroom bite to their off-kilter alt-rock and mouthy blues, winding up with a unique sound that bleeds freely across genres. Imagine the Stones and Pixies brawling it out in the seediest dive of some swampy Southern town. Tapping garage rawness on 2008's self-titled debut, Cage the Elephant quickly beefed up their anthems to achieve textured saturation, while sneaking in surprises like the stuttered EDM twist in the middle of “Spiderhead.” Matthew Shultz is the classic sure-footed frontman through it all, swinging from brash vocal tangents to honeyed soul sweetness.

Rock is in a constant state of evolution, adapting to the current climate as much as it’s stayed steady. Here’s where you can survey its growth—a playlist of the most vital rock tracks of the moment. Our editors regularly update these picks, so if something delivers that rush like only a great rock song can, add it to your library.