On September 26th, Wild Honey Records released HIT MANIA ROK ‚24, which was a compilation of various Italian garage punk bands. The record was curated by Wilson Wilson, who, as far as I can tell, is a member of the BEE BEE SEAS, My Telephone Number, MaDDam, and Yonic South. The Bandcamp description also dubs him "President of ROK." So clearly this guys got a lot on his plate.
There are lots of absolute bangers on this album, by several notable bands. My Telephone Number's track "Spongebob ROK" acts as a short interlude, and introduces us to the bands sound just two weeks before their "ALBUM #1" is released to much renown. Similarly, The BEE BEE SEAs saw great success with their prior album Time & Time in 2023. Clearly a big year for Wilson Wilson.
Every song is about ROK, and even includes it in the title. Which leads the listener to ask "What is ROK?" One might immediately assume it refers to the rock in rock 'n roll, however I believe it goes deeper. Wilson Wilson states:
If you're all wondering what the word 'ROK' means, I'll admit that I’m not entirely sure either. I just know that at some point, the words 'rock' and 'rock n roll' started to feel redundant. I think it was years ago when someone—probably Perthe, the guitarist in Yonic South—wrote 'ROK' in the description of a Facebook event or in Ig stories until it became something we can't live without and that now belongs to everyone.
ROK clearly means something more than just another word for rock, and I think listening to the album makes it more apparent what Wilson is talking about here. Rock 'n roll was something that was created by our grandparents decades ago, this album asks the question "is the rock 'n roll of years past relevant in the rock 'n roll of today?"
This album contains an incredible variety of sounds. It starts slow and blue-sy with Super Stanzy ROKs which then transitions into intense synths and chanting with ROK. You have tracks with heavy distortion and synths like What is ROK mixed with a cleaner, classic indie tone of "Keep on ROKin" and Anthem of ROK'n'Roll. There is even a cover of the Misfits Hybrid Moments titled Hybrid Moments ROK.
This album's tone is all over the place, which is I think helps explain the meaning of ROK. When someone tries to define rock 'n roll, it's hard to describe a single sound. Rock 'n roll is such a wide-reaching genre, that it's hard to explain what it is without excluding bands. I think it's a similar thing with ROK. ROK is a wide variety of sounds, from synths to classic guitars, ROK is fast paced and slow, its loud and aggressive and quiet and subtle. ROK is the freedom of imagination and experimentation, allowing for the widest possible array of sounds. ROK is quite literally whatever you want it to be.
Wilson Wilson states:
I'm truly grateful to all the bands who embraced my dumb ass request. But that’s exactly what ROK is all about: cool people doing dumb things they love. And it doesn’t really matter how wacky it gets, as long as the ideas behind it are genuinely original. Maybe I’ve inspired some of them, and some of them have definitely inspired me. And that's great, as long as this thing keeps going on!
More important than the tone, ROK is about people imagining and experimenting and creating awesome sounds. I think this album and the ideas it presents are so representative of the awesome albums we've had this year. There have been so many stellar sounds and fresh ideas, and it shows how much the genre of "rock" has changed since its creation.
This album has put Italy on my radar for the upcoming year, and I look forward to taking a deeper dive into these bands and records. Maybe I should plan a vacation... for research.