I was set to do these only on Mondays but it seems there’s too much to post. So: I’ll post these whenever I find 5(ish) artists that I really dig.
Here are 5 artists that are worth your time.
As always, I’ll include this month’s Spotify and Apple Music playlists at the bottom.
Warm Human
instagram | youtube | bandcamp
Meredith Johnson’s latest album is from last year but it’s new to me, and it’s fantastic. Her music is mostly guitar-first alt-rock, ranging from quiet alternative ballads to grungy/shoegaze-y stuff to synthy electronics. Her voice (and more than a few songs) made me think of Blondshell and Liz Phair (also from Chicago!). As with those two, it’s the lyrics that stand tallest – Make Good is an outstanding example of this:
If I could make everything alright for you I would / When we yell at each other we’re not yellin’ at one another we yell at our childhoods
Here’s a good profile of her from Bandcamp.
This is her latest single:
Here is an electronic track with a cool vocal effect and a video that features waterboarding(!):
She’s been putting out music since 2017, so there’s a lot more to dig into. Expect to read more.
Slow Fiction
instagram | website | bandcamp | youtube
This group is opening for SPRINTS for a few dates of the US leg of their current tour. They have an EP on the way in May, and two really promising tracks are available now. I love the noisy, rambunctious, urgent rock sound, can’t wait to hear what else they have to share. If you like that SPRINTS album, you’ll like this. (…and if you don’t like that SPRINTS LP, seek help.) They have an EP from last year that’s a little softer but still worth checking out.
They sound good live:
Deanna Petcoff
instagram | bandcamp | youtube
Her debut record came out in 2022 but I just heard it for the first time last week. She’s promising new stuff in 2024, including a gig at Tall Pines festival. Primarily guitar-based indie rock, and her voice has great character. Her music is disarming — at first listen, her songs are somewhat straightforward, but almost every song had an attention-grabbing vocal. Her lyrics are literary but not pretentious, and often surprisingly funny and informal.
Trash Bag makes me laugh out loud every time it comes on. The video is simple but super charming.
The Band Genie
This Toronto band only has two songs out but they are both extremely catchy. They promise more music in 2024. Can’t come soon enough.
They’ve only gotten tighter since that Horseshoe performance. That was last June, here’s a clip of the same track from this past January.
Huush
Who are these guys? There’s next to nothing available about this band. They have one single available on streaming (and it’s pretty good), their instagram is sparse, they don’t seem to exist on bandcamp (or they’re somehow unfindable). Anyway, this KEXP session is great. They sound like a band who have been at it for a while. It’s silly, fun and they sell the shit out of it live.