The New Dad Rock

What exactly is in the water in Quebec? And how did a band of polka-dotted, papier-mâché-headed aliens playing microtonal math rock become one of the biggest musical sensations of 2026?

On this first installment of a two-part exploration of Montreal's gloriously weird musical universe, Steve and Keith start with Angine de Poitrine, whose jaw-dropping KEXP performance sent the internet into a collective state of disbelief. But behind the bizarre costumes, impossible guitar work, and claims of being 333-year-old time travelers lies something even more interesting: a band that's spent years developing its own musical language, only to have the world suddenly catch up.

From there, Steve takes Keith back to the early 2000s and the wonderfully unhinged world of The Unicorns, whose Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? remains a singular collision of infectious pop, lo-fi chaos, and existential dread. Then there's Islands, whose expansive, adventurous debut Return to the Sea transformed that same restless imagination into something altogether grander.

Along the way, the guys revisit Wolf Parade's combustible Apologies to the Queen Mary, the epic soundscapes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and a remarkable period when Montreal seemed to be producing bands that had little in common beyond their refusal to play by the rules.

Is there really a Montreal sound? Or is the city's greatest musical export the freedom to sound like absolutely nobody else?

Put on your polka dots, tune your guitar somewhere between the notes, and join us for part one of a two-part journey into one of indie rock's most adventurous musical hotbeds.

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

Did you vote today? And, more importantly, can a song actually change anything?

On this episode of The New Dad Rock takes on the protest song: that curious musical form that has been trying to change the world, rally the troops, and occasionally get people to pay attention. From Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Ohio" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," we look at songs that captured a moment in history—and wonder whether they ever changed anybody's mind.

Then things get a little louder. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Megadeth prove that political commentary isn't limited to folk singers with acoustic guitars. Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." reminds us that a great chorus can completely overwhelm a song's message, while The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Pavement and Rage Against the Machine offer rather different approaches to getting their point across. And naturally, Public Enemy gets a turn.

But what actually makes a protest song effective? Does it persuade, provoke, unite people who already agree, or simply make a difficult situation feel a little less lonely? And if a song can be a protest against war, injustice or the government, what about a love song? Isn't that sometimes just a protest against somebody not loving you enough—or loving you too much?

Along the way, we discuss Devo, Bono, Morrissey, N.W.A., and the possibility that pretty much every song is a complaint about something.

So, can a song change the world? Maybe. But first, you might want to check your voter registration—and actually listen to the lyrics.

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

Olivia Tremor Control returns from the Great Beyond!

Twenty-seven years. Two departed songwriters. One long-lost hard drive. And finally, a new Olivia Tremor Control album.

On this episode of The New Dad Rock, Steve and Keith dive into the unlikely arrival of The Same Place, the first new album from the Elephant 6 psychedelic collective since Black Foliage in 1999. With founding songwriters Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart both gone, how did their bandmates manage to complete a record that had been in the works for years? The answer involves forgotten recordings, multiple formats, decades-old sessions, and a musical community determined to finish what it started.

But this isn't just a story about archival archaeology and unfinished business. Steve and Keith revisit the strange, wonderful world of Olivia Tremor Control: the irresistible pop melodies, sprawling sound collages, tape-loop experiments, and psychedelic excursions that made the band one of the most fascinating acts to emerge from the nineties indie underground. Along the way, they revisit the parallel paths of the Sunshine Fix and Circulatory System, consider the legacy of Elephant 6, and ask the big question: does The Same Place stand up as an album in its own right, or does its extraordinary backstory shape how we hear it?

Can a record assembled across decades recapture the spirit of a band that no longer exists? And where does it belong alongside those first two remarkable albums?

It's a story about friendship, experimentation, memory, and the strange afterlife of music. Some records take a little longer to find their way into the world.

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

What makes a song Halloween music? Is it ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night—or is it the creeping suspicion that Tom Waits is building something in his basement?

On this fifth Halloween outing, Steve and Keith go far beyond Monster Mash and Thriller to build the ultimate soundtrack to the gradual collapse of civilization, one record at a time. From Bauhaus, The Cure, and John Carpenter to King Gizzard, Phish, Hawkwind, Skinny Puppy, and the gloriously unhinged Igorrr, the guys explore the fine line between spooky atmosphere, psychedelic weirdness, industrial chaos, and music that might just clear the room.

Along the way, they debate what belongs on a Halloween playlist, celebrate the art of the perfectly timed musical descent into madness, and reveal why a great party mix needs more than a few novelty hits. You need pacing, menace, a little theatrical nonsense—and an emergency escape route back to The Time Warp.

So dim the lights, pour yourself something questionable, and join two dads with an unreasonable number of Halloween records as they venture from haunted glamour to musical sacrilege.

Listen responsibly. If you hear Bauhaus coming from an empty room, don't investigate. Just add the song to your playlist.

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/the-new-dad-rock-suburban-halloween/pl.u-BNA6X9WtKKlvN

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/halloween/pl.u-BNA6L66uKKlvN

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

What if the next Led Zeppelin album isn't made by Led Zeppelin?

This week, Steve and Keith tackle a question that sounds ridiculous today and inevitable tomorrow. From the first time Cleveland listeners heard Rush's "Working Man" and thought it was Led Zeppelin, to the rise of AI-generated music that can recreate almost any sound, we ask whether the world's most famous bands are ever really finished.

Along the way we discover that Ed Sheeran is worth how much?!? Then we follow the money to answer a deceptively simple question: how do musicians actually make a living in 2026?

Streaming royalties, touring, merch, VIP experiences, posters, limited-edition foil prints, and the strange economics of modern fandom all make an appearance. We revisit Radiohead's famous pay-what-you-want experiment and compare it to today's creator economy, where music itself sometimes feels like the least profitable part of being a musician.

Plus:

• Why a King Gizzard foil poster can cost more than a month of streaming revenue
• The enduring magic of The Fillmore poster tradition
• Whether legacy bands should keep making new music or simply tour the classics
• King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's seemingly impossible business model
• Who actually gets paid when you press play

Most importantly, Steve and Keith debate whether we're heading toward a future where every great band can release "new" albums forever.

Maybe the question isn't whether there's going to be a new Led Zeppelin album. Maybe it's who gets to make it.

Welcome to possibly our best episode yet.

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

What happens when your favorite musician is... you? 

This week on The New Dad Rock, Keith reveals a startling discovery: he's become the world's biggest fan of an artist who doesn't actually exist. Thanks to AI music generators, he's been creating songs tailored precisely to his own tastes—and then listening to them. A lot.

Steve, naturally, finds this deeply troubling.

The conversation begins with "The Ohio Afterglow Incident," where Steve's daughter mistakes one of Keith's AI-generated songs for Ed Sheeran, then mistakes a real artist for one of Keith's AI songs. Suddenly nobody knows which direction influence is flowing anymore.

From there, Steve and Keith wrestle with increasingly uncomfortable questions: If someone made the perfect song just for you, would you ever need another artist? If discovery disappears, does music become less meaningful? Is curation more valuable than creation? And at what point does Keith have to start paying himself royalties?

Along the way they explore the future of music, the Netflix-ification of culture, personalized nostalgia manufacturing, and whether infinite customization ultimately leaves us more isolated than connected. They also share the correct way to pronounce the band Hooveriii  

For decades technology helped us find our tribe. AI might help us become a tribe of one.

Plus: CocoRosie, Ed Sheeran, monthly listener counts of exactly one, and the debut of a brand-new genre: Self-Rock.

Listen now before Keith releases another album and immediately becomes its biggest fan.

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

On this episode of The New Dad Rock Podcast, we ask the question every aging music fan eventually faces: when is a band too old to keep going — and are we too old to care? Using the 2026 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a jumping-off point, we dig into the strange, emotional lifecycle of legacy artists, reunion tours, and rock immortality. From the long-overdue induction of Iron Maiden and New Order/Joy Division in the same Hall class, we unpack what “classic rock” even means anymore.

We also talk retirement — or the apparent impossibility of it — through the lens of Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue and Slayer, while checking in on enduring cult heroes like Mercury Rev, Afghan Whigs, led by the intrepid Greg Dulli. Along the way, we revisit unforgettable tours from Pavement, and Modest Mouse, say goodbye to late-night TV as we know (featuring Tom Waits and David Byrne), and ask whether bands like LCD Soundsystem and Hawkwind have discovered the secret to aging gracefully — or just loudly.

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

Episode 111 finds Steve and Keith riding the chairlift straight into the soul of music discovery. Inspired by that eternal mountain question — what is the liftie listening to right now? — the dads talk skiing, snow culture, and the strange magic of hearing life-changing music while dangling above the trees.

Along the way, they dig into a mix of new discoveries and familiar names seen from a fresh altitude: The Grateful Dead, John Mayer, Wet Leg, Lily Allen, Amaarae, ROSALÍA (LUX), Fomies, and Hooveriii. Some of it’s warm, some of it’s icy, some of it hits like fresh powder, and some of it feels like the weird playlist blasting from a shack at the top of the mountain.

It’s a little less talk, a little more glide — music first, banter second — as The New Dad Rock continues its long, strange trip in episode 111. Strap in, lower the bar, and enjoy the ride. 🎿

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

Steve goes up into the attic to sort through his CDs, what he finds will change the course of The New Dad Rock.

Tune in to reminisce about spending $20 on imported CD singles that had two crappy songs on them.

Settle the debate of whether Sugarbush is better than Killington.

And most importantly...fuck ICE!

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.

The dads are back—and this time, the list is real. After months of listening, debating, reshuffling, and second-guessing, Steve & Keith finally unveil their definitive Top 25 Albums of 2025. But in classic New Dad Rock fashion, they do it backwards: starting with their Album of the Year and counting all the way down to #25, unpacking the twists and surprises hidden inside every pick.

This is the victory lap. The payoff. The moment the spreadsheets, late-night texts, and questionable life choices all point toward.

Along the way, the dads break open what made 2025 such a wild, shape-shifting year in music: the art-damaged provocateurs, the bands leveling up, the newcomers melting faces, the legends refusing to quit, and the records that came out of nowhere to absolutely own their heads and their headphones.

Expect passionate defenses, good-natured outrage, accidental agreements, and at least one “Wait, that made it where on your list?” It’s thoughtful, chaotic, sentimental, and deeply nerdy—the exact energy you tune in for.

Whether you're here to discover new favorites, validate your impeccable taste, or yell at your speakers about what got snubbed, Episode 109 is your essential guide to the very best music 2025 had to offer.

Queue it up. Count it down. And long live The New Dad Rock.

Let us know what’s up.

Support the show

Did you know that The New Dad Rock has swag? Coffee mugs, pillow and t-shirts in a multitude of colors and arm lengths.